fc 


LEGENDS  OF  BRITTANY. 


ENGLISH  VERSION 


SONVESTRE'S    "FOYER    BRETON," 


FROM 


A  GERMAN  TRANSLATION  BY  HEINRICH  BODE. 


BY    A    LADY. 


BOSTON: 
CROSBY,   NICHOLS,   AND    COMPANY, 

111  WASHINGTON  STREET. 

1854. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1853,  by 

CROSBY,  NICHOLS,  AND  COMPANY, 
in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


PREFACE 

BT 

THE   GERMAN  TRANSLATOR.* 


GOODY  MAHRCHEN!  is  a  dear,  familiar  guest, 
much  beloved  by  old  and  young,  because  she 
tells  things  in  a  very  pretty  way,  and  she  knows 
about  things  that  mortals  have  never  dreamed 
of.  She  makes  long  journeys,  and  roams  all 
about  the  world,  to  bring  home  something 

*  The  Mahrchen  or  legends  of  which  I  have  here  made  a  collec- 
tion are  taken  from  Sonvestre's  "  Foyer  Breton  "  (Fireside  Tales  of 
Brittany).  As  I  consider  it  of  no  small  importance  that  stories  of 
this  kind,  which  have  a  very  wide  circle  of  readers  among  the 
young  folks,  should  be  so  framed  as  to  be  free  from  every  thing 
positively  outlandish,  in  trying  to  narrate  them  after  our  own 
country  fashion,  I  have  found  it  necessary  to  make  several,  and 
some  quite  considerable  alterations,  for  which  I  hardly  feel  author- 
ized to  make  Sonvestre  answerable,  though  the  original  plan  of 
each  story  has  been  adhered  to  as  closely  as  its  adaptation  to  oar 
readers  would  allow,  and  we  can  assure  those  readers,  that  in  these 
alterations  the  stories  themselves  have  lost  nothing  of  their  distinc- 
tive national  character.  —  NOTE  BY  THE  GERMAN  TBANSLATOE 

t  Mahrchen  is  a  German  word,  signifying  tale  or  legend. 


i 


IV  PREFACE. 

all  my  dearly  loved  nephews  and  nieces,  with 
the  hope  that  it  may  have  as  much  power  to 
arriuse  and  entertain  them,  as  it  has  had  to  be- 
guile many  a  weary  hour  of  feeble  health,  while 
accompanying  the  German  translator  through 
enchanted  forests,  wizard  caves,  and  magic 
circles. 


PREFACE 


BY 


THE    ENGLISH  TRANSLATOR. 


"  DEAR  aunt,  do  read  us  another  story  out  of 
the  little  German  book ! "  is  a  petition  delivered 
in  a  most  coaxing  way,  that  often  meets  my  ear, 
and  one  that  is  not  easily  resisted.  But  it  is  a 
little  laborious  to  read  a  foreign  language  into 
one's  mother-tongue,  unless  one  is  gifted  with 
more  fluency  than  myself,  and  therefore,  though 
I  have  always  found  my  little  hungry  auditors 
extremely  willing  to  overlook  all  defects  in  these 
improvised  translations,  I  have  sometimes  put 
them  off  by  promising  to  write  out  these  favorite 
tales  of  theirs  into  plain  English,  and  get  them 
printed,  so  that  they  may  have  the  satisfaction 
of  reading  them  themselves. .  And  now,  accord- 
ing to  my  promise,  I  dedicate  this  my  transla- 
tion, imperfect  and  ill  executed  as  it  may  be,  to 


V  PREFACE. 

new,  which  she  knows  how  to  dish  up  after  her 
own  fashion;  and  then,  when  the  grandmother 
says,  "  Mahrchen  has  come  again,  and  has 
brought  some  very  pretty  stories,"  the  children 
all  jump  for  joy,  and  crowd  round  to  hear  what 
she  has  to  say. 

Mahrchen  has  now  come  again,  and  this  time 
she  has  come  a  long,  long  way,  —  she  has  come 
from  Brittany,  where  many  clever,  honest  people 
live,  and  it  is  so  far  off,  that  you  have  to  go 
all  through  France  to  get  to  it.*  Well,  she  has 
brought  home  some  stories,  —  stories  that  I  as- 
sure you  are  well  worth  listening  to,  and  that 
nobody  is  ever  tired  of  hearing.  I  have  written 
them  down  for  you,  so  that  you  may  read  them 
yourselves,  or  coax  grandmother  to  read  them  to 
you ;  but  once  for  all,  I  charge  you,  give  good 
heed,  for  Mahrchen  often  teaches  many  a  wise 
lesson,  and  if  you  pay  attention  to  what  she 
says,  you  will  not  have  to  learn  the  same  things 
out  of  other  books,  which  would  be  much  harder 
to  read,  and  would  not  give  you  half  so  much 
pleasure. 

Now  then,  read,  and  pay  strict  attention. 

*  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  is  addressed  to  German  children. 


CONTENTS. 


PACK 

JOHNNY  REDBREAST, 1 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  BAT, 14 

ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING, 30 

THE  THREE  ALMS, 44 

THE  LITTLE  MAN  OF  THE  RUSHES, 58 

THE  STROLLING  BEGGAR,  ....  72 

THE  WALKING  STONES, 89 

THE  WATER-WITCH, 104 

THE  BAGPIPER, 117 

THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE  HEATH 124 

THE  GIFTS  OF  THE  DWARFS, 134 

THE  ENCHANTED  CITY, 148 

SILLY  PETER, ,  158 


JOHNNY    REDBREAST. 


ONCE  on  a  time,  before  the  stones  of  which 
the  oldest  churches  are  built  were  yet  quar- 
ried, there  lived  in  a  certain  village  a  poor 
widow,  named  Lisbeth. 

Her  father  was  a  rich  and  respectable  man, 
who,  when  he  died,  left  a  house  and  a  good  deal 
of  landed  property,  a  mill  and  a  bakery,  twelve 
horses  and  twice  as  many  oxen,  twelve  cows  and 
six  times  as  many  sheep,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
corn  and  the  flax. 

But  Lisbeth's  brothers  wronged  her  out  of  her 
share  of  the  inheritance.  The  oldest  took  the 
house,  the  lands,  and  the  cows ;  the  second  took 
the  mill  and  the  horses;  and  the  third  seized 
upon  the  oxen,  the  bakery,  and  the  sheep. 

So  then  there  was  nothing  left  for  Lisbeth  but 
1 


2  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

a  miserable  hut,  in  a  moor,  just  out  of  the  vil- 
lage, which  had  been  used  for  sick  cattle.  While 
she  was  removing  the  few  things  she  possessed 
into  this  wretched  place,  her  youngest  brother 
said  to  her :  — 

"  Now,  Lisbeth,  you  shall  see  that  I  have  a 
true,  brotherly  heart.  I  have  a  black  cow  that 
brings  me  in  nothing,  and  gives  hardly  a  saucer- 
full  of  milk ;  take  her  with  you,  I  give  her  to  you. 
Weissdornchen  can  lead  her  by  a  rope." 

Weissdornchen  was  the  widow's  daughter,  a 
little  girl  of  eleven  years  of  age.  Her  face  was  as 
fair  as  the  thorn-blossoms,  and  on  this  account 
she  was  called  Weissdornchen  (Little  White 
Thorn). 

Weissdornchen  took  the  meagre'  black  cow  by 
an  old  rope,  and  thus  Lisbeth  and  her  daughter 
jogged  along  to  the  cow-house. 

All  day  long,  Weissdornchen  tended  the  black 
cow,  which,  browsing  among  the  stones  with 
which  the  moor  was  covered,  could  hardly  find 
enough  to  satisfy  her  hunger ;  the  little  girl, 
in  the  mean  time,  amusing  herself  by  plucking 
flowers,  and  tying  them  into  little  nosegays,  and 
then  planting  them  in  the  earth. 


JOHNNY    REDBREAST.  6 

One  day,  as  "Weissdb'rnchen  was  binding  nose- 
gays of  pretty  daisies,  there  came  a  little  bird, 
which  perched  on  one  of  the  little  flower-bunches 
she  had  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  began  to  twit- 
ter, and  move  his  little  head  about,  as  if  he 
wanted  to  talk  to  the  little  girl. 

"Weissdornchen  wondered  greatly  at  this.  She 
stepped  softly  up  to  the  bird,  and  held  her  ear 
close  down  to  listen.  But  she  could  understand 
nothing.  The  bird  tried  to  chirp  louder,  and  still 
louder,  it  beat  its  wings,  and  hopped  round  be- 
fore her,  but  Weissdornchen  could  not  under- 
stand all  this  in  the  least.  But  it  gave  her  so 
much  pleasure  to  see  and  listen  to  the  little  bird, 
that  she  did  not  see  it  was  evening.  At  last  the 
bird  flew  away.  As  she  looked  after  him  to  see 
whither  he  flew,  she  saw  the  stars  in  the  sky. 

Swiftly  she  hastened  to  seek  the  black  cow, 
but  she  was  not  to  be  found  upon  the  moor. 
"Weissdornchen  shouted  with  all  her  might,  she 
ran  about  over  the  whole  moor,  and  she  even 
climbed  up  into  the  hollows  among  the  rocks, 
where  the  rain-water  had  formed  little  ponds ; 
but  in  vain,  the  cow  had  vanished. 

At  last,  she  heard  the  voice  of  her  mother  call- 


4  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

ing  her,  who  was  fearful  that  something  had  be- 
fallen her.  Sadly  Weissdornchen  ran  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  voice,  and  as  she  went  along  the 
path  which  led  to  the  hut,  she  found  her  mother, 
and  near  her  the  beloved  black  cow,  torn  in 
pieces  by  wolves.  Nothing  remained  but  the 
horns  and  the  bones. 

When  Weissdornchen  saw  this,  she  was  hor- 
ror-struck, for  she  had  grown  very  fond  of  the 
cow  while  tending  her  on  the  moor.  She  threw 
herself  on  the  ground  and  gathered  up  the  bones. 

The  widow  took  her  child  by  the  hand,  and 
tried  to  console  her.  "  You  do  wrong  to  lament 
for  the  cow  as  if  she  were  a  human  being.  For 
even  though  wicked  people  and  wolves  be  against 
us,  yet  Heaven  is  for  us.  Help  me  up  with  my 
bundle  of  heath,  and  come  with  me  to  the  hut." 

Weissdornchen  obeyed,  but  at  each  step  a  sigh 
escaped  her,  and  big  tears  roHed,  one  after  an- 
other, down  her  cheeks. 

"  Poor  Blackey ! "  thought  she,  "  poor  Black- 
ey !  You  were  so  gentle  to  lead,  so  easily  satis- 
fied with  any  kind  of  fodder,  and  you  had  al- 
ready grown  so  nice  and  plump ! " 

She  could  eat  nothing  at  supper-time,  and  she 


JOHNNY    REDBREAST.  O 

» 

waked  many  times  in  the  night,  thinking  she 
heard  the  black  cow  lowing  at  the  door. 

The  next  morning  she  rose  up  before  day,  and, 
undressed  and  barefooted,  ran  out  into  the  moor. 
When  she  got  out  of  doors,  she  found  there  the 
same  little  bird,  perched  just  as  he  had  been  the 
day  before  on  one  of  the  nosegays  she  had 
planted  in  the  ground,  and  he  sang  anew,  and 
seemed  to  be  calling  her. 

Alas  !  she  could  understand  him  now  as  little 
as  yesterday,  and  feeling  quite  vexed,  she  was 
just  going  to  run  away,  when  she  saw  some- 
thing shining  on  the  ground,  that  looked  like 
a  gold  piece.  She  turned  it  over  with  her  foot, 
it  was  nothing  but  a  blossom  of  the  yellow 
groundsel.  But  no  sooner  had  she  touched  it, 
than  she  understood  at  once  the  language  of  the 
little  bird,*  which  cried  out  to  her,  "  Weissdorn- 
chen,  I  am  disposed  to  befriend  you ;  listen  to 
me." 


*  It  is  an  old  and  very  prevalent  superstition,  that  if  one  who  has 
never  committed  a  crime  will  go  out,  en  chemise  and  barefoot,  and 
break  off  a  flower  of  the  groundsel,  he  will  be  able  to  under- 
stand the  speech  of  all  animals. 


O  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  Weissdornchen,  much 
astonished  that  she  could  understand  other  than 
human  language. 

"  I  am  Johnny  Redbreast,"  answered  the  bird. 
"  I  have  it  in  my  power,  every  year,  to  make  one 
good  poor  child  happy,  and  this  time  it  is  to  be 
you." 

"  Is  that  true,  Johnny  Redbreast  ? "  cried 
Weissdornchen,  delighted.  "  Shall  I  have  a  Ijttle 
silver  cross  to  wear  round  my  neckband  not  have 
to  go  barefoot  any  more,  but  have  wooden  shoes 
to  walk  in  ?  " 

"  You  shall  have  a  golden  chain,  and  wear 
silken  shoes  like  a  grand  lady,"  replied  Johnny 
Redbreast. 

"  And  how  is  that  to  be  brought  about,  my 
dear  little  bird?" 

"  Follow  me  whither  I  lead  you." 

Weissdornchen  was  all  ready  to  follow  Johnny 
wherever  he  might  lead  her.  Away  they  went, 
over  the  moor,  across  stony  fields,  and  through 
wastes  overgrown  with  thistles,  till  they  came  to 
the  sea,  where  lay  the  Seven  Islands.  Here 
Johnny  Redbreast  stayed  his  flight,  and  said  to 
the  little  girl :  — 


JOHNNY    REDBREAST.  11 

The  widow  was  full  of  joy  when  she  learned 
what  had  happened.  The  next  day  she  took  out 
the  horse  to  carry  some  corn  to  market.  But 
think  of  her  astonishment,  when,  the  more  she 
laid  upon  the  horse,  the  broader  grew  his  back, 
and  this  one  horse  could  carry  more  than  all  the 
horses  in  the  place  ! 

This  was  soon  noised  about,  and  now  came 
the  other  brother  and  begged  his  sister  to  sell 
him  the  horse.  ,  This  she  refused  to  do  until  he 
offered  for  it  his  horses,  his  mill,  and  all  the 
swine  that  he  was  fattening. 

Then  the  widow  consented  to  part  with  the 
horse,  and  took  possession  of  the  mill. 

But  at  evening,  things  went  on  just  as  before. 
Little  Sea-horse  was  again  in  his  stall ;  Weiss- 
dornchen  brought  three  milkwort  flowers,  gave 
them  to  the  horse,  and  when  she  had  called 
Johnny  Redbreast  for  the  third  time,  the  horse 
changed  into  a  sheep,  which  she  named  "  Little 
Sea-sheep."  The  sheep  had  wool  as  long  as 
hemp,  white  as  linen,  and  fine  as  silk. 

The  widow  came  to  witness  the  new  wonder, 
and  when  she  had  looked  at  the  sheep,  she  said 
to  Weissdornchen,  "  Go  and  get  thereat  sheep- 


12  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

shears,  for  this  sheep  has  more  wool  than  it  can 
carry." 

But  as  she  sheared  the  sheep,  the  wool  imme- 
diately grew  again,  just  as  long  as  it  was  before 
she  cut  it,  and  Lisbeth  perceived  that  Little  Sea- 
sheep  was  worth  more  than  all  the  sheep  in  the 
whole  country. 

The  third  brother  came  that  way  acciden- 
tally, saw  how  things  were,  and  immediately 
exchanged  his  bakery,  sheep,  and  oxen  for  Little 
Sea-sheep. 

But  as  he  was  driving  it  away,  he  passed  by 
the  sea-shore,  near  the  Seven  Islands ;  there,  Lit- 
tle Sea-sheep  rushed  into  the  water,  swam  across 
to  the  first  island,  and  vanished  in  the  rock  cov- 
ered with  sea-green  rushes,  which  opened  and 
immediately  closed  behind  him. 

At  evening  Weissdornchen  waited  in  vain  for 
Little  Sea-sheep:  night  came,  and  the  next 
morning,  but  no  Little  Sea-sheep. 

Sadly  roamed  Weissdornchen  over  the  moor. 
There  she  found  Johnny  Redbreast  sitting,  who 
said  to  her,  "  I  have  -been  waiting  for  you,  my 
dear  Weissdornchen.  Little  Sea-sheep  is  gone, 
and  will  never  come  again.  Your  uncles  are 


JOHNNY    REDBREAST.  13 

justly  punished  for  their  avarice  and  dishonesty, 
and  you  are  now  rich  enough  to  wear  a  golden 
chain  and  silken  shoes.  I  have  nothing  more  to 
do  here.  Always  remember  that  you  have  been 
poor,  and  remain  as  good  as  you  are  pretty." 

With  these  words,  Johnny  Redbreast  flew 
away,  and  never  showed  himself  again. 

Weissdornchen  grew  up  tall  and  handsome. 
She  did  remain  good  and  tender-hearted,  always 
sympathizing  with  the  needy  and  suffering,  and 
taking  a  particular  interest  in  all  poor  children  ; 
and  all  who  knew  her  loved  her. 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT. 


IT  is  a  sad  thing  to  make  a  promise  without 
thinking  beforehand  whether  we  can  fulfil  it  or 
not.  In  such  a  case,  it  is  not  every  one  who 
gets  off  so  well  as  Tina,  the  heroine  of  our  tale ; 
for  even  if  there  are  now-a-days  no  evil  sprites 
to  haunt  and  torment  the  faithless  one,  there 
are  always  plenty  of  other  people  to  look  sour  at 
him,  and  at  any  rate  his  good  name  and"  his 
conscience  must  suffer  from  his  delinquency. 

Tina  was  a  pretty  girl ;  she  was  called  the 
greatest  beauty  of  the  six  neighboring  villages, 
and  all  the  village  lads  were  striving  for  her 
.favor.  But  Tina  was  a  trifle  haughty,  and 
prided  herself  rather  too  much  upon  her  beauty ; 
one  was  not  handsome  enough  for  her,  and  an- 
other was  not  rich  enough ;  one  was  too  young, 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  15 

and  another  too  old ;  in  short,  she  had  some  ob- 
jection to  them  all. 

At  length  a  nobleman,  from  a  fashionable  city 
near  by,  made  his  appearance.  He  saw  Tina, 
and  was  dazzled  by  her  beauty.  Of  what  use 
was  it  for  him  to  say  to  himself,  "  I  am  a  noble- 
man, and  she  only  a  peasant-girl ! "  Of  what 
use  was  it  for  him  to  go  away,  and  travel  the 
wide  world  over,  to  drive  away  all  thoughts  of 
Tina !  Love  mounts  like  the  waters  of  the  sea, 
and  submerges  its  victim,  head  and  ears.  Coun- 
sel was  of  no  avail,  he  must  see  Tina  again. 
Tina  received  him  as  if  he  had  been  his  Rever- 
ence, the  parish  priest.  She  set  before  him  the 
finest  wheat-bread,  and  the  most  delicious  wine, 
and  the  nobleman  asked  her  if  she  would  be 
his  bride.  Tina  gladly  said,  "  Yes  "  ;  she  longed 
to  be  a  great  lady,  and  wear  silken  dresses,  as 
she  had  seen  them  do  at  the  Castle.  Alan,  that 
was  the  nobleman's  name,  gave  her  a  ring,  and 
Tina  promised  to  love  him  always.  So  every 
Sunday  they  went  together  to  church,  and  when 
the  services  were  over,  they  used  to  walk  to- 
gether, both  in  the  evenings  and  at  other  times ; 
when,  one  day,  a  man  appeared  with  two  splen- 


16  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

did  horses,  and  announced  to  Alan,  that,  if  he 
would  once  more  see  his  brother  living,  he  must 
hasten  to  him  immediately.  Alan  promised  con- 
stancy to  his  bride,  and  Tina  swore  by  all  that 
was  dear,  that,  should  she  ever  think  of  another, 
all  the  curses  that  could  be  thought  of  might 
light  upon  her  head. 

So  the  young  nobleman  quietly  went  qfF  on 
his  journey  to  his  dying  brother.  Tina  wept  bit- 
terly :  but  fearful  that  her  tears  might  spoil  her 
beautiful  eyes,  she  wiped  them  away,  but  she 
still  felt  very  sad.  So,  to  drive  away  her  sad- 
ness, she  would  sing  little  songs  as  she  went 
about  the  house.  By  degrees  her  melancholy 
was  entirely  dissipated,  and  she  recovered  all  her 
former  gayety. 

So  long  as  Alan  stood  in  the  way,  the  young 
villagers  had  kept  aloof.  But  the  young  noble- 
man was  no  sooner  gone,  than  they  came  as  be- 
fore, and  vied  with  each  other  in  their  gallant  at- 
tentions. Tina  accepted  their  courtesies,  and 
one  who  knew  nothing  of  her  affairs  would  have 
supposed  that  matters  stood  just  as  they  did  be- 
fore the  advent  of  the  young  nobleman.  To  one 
she  gave  her  horse  to  hold,  to  another  she  hand- 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  17 

ed  her  party-colored,  carved  riding-switch,  and 
she  allowed  a  third  to  steal  from  her  pocket  the 
nuts  the  baker's  little  daughter  had  given  her. 
In  this  way,  all  the  young  fellows  were  on  excel- 
lent terms  with  her,  though  in  fact  no  one  was 
any  more  favored  than  another ;  for  Tina  made 
i.  <e  of  them  all,  and  when  she  had  got  what  she 
wanted  from  any  one  of  them,  she  never  scru- 
pled to  dismiss  him  with  contempt,  and  call 
him  a  Tom  Fool  into  the  bargain!  Alan  had 
promised  to  return  in  three  months,  with  heart 
unchanged ;  but  a  long  time  had  already  elapsed, 
and  no  news  had  been  received  from  him,  when 
St.  John's  day  came.  St.  John's  day  is  a  fa- 
mous festival.  Bonfires  are  then  kindled  at  night- 
fall, and  all  the  young  men  and  maidens  over 
sixteen  years  of  age  assemble  for  games  and 
dancing.  Tina,  of  course,  did  not  fail  to  grace 
the  occasion. 

The  fete  was  held  on  a  broad,  open  meadow, 
not  far  from  the  Zwerglocher,  where  the  wicked 
Kobolde  or  imps  of  darkness  celebrate  their  wild 
orgies.  All  the  girls  wore  the  blue  flax-blossoms 
in  their  bodices,  and  the  lads  green  branches 
in  their  hats.  Before  the  dancing  began,  each 
2 


18  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

young  man  took  his  betrothed  by  the  hand,  and, 
in  long  rows,  all  proceeded  to  the  Big-  Stone,  a 
rock  which  separated  the  Zwerglocher  from  the 
meadow.  Here  they  laid  down  their  rustic  or- 
naments, the  bridegroom  placing  his  sprig  of 
green  beside  the  flowers  of  his  bride.  He  or  she 
who  had  not  broken  his  or  her  plighted  troth 
was  sure  to  find  twig  or  flower  as  green  and 
fresh  as  when  first  placed  there. 

Tina  passed  on  with  the  others,  her  ring  of 
betrothal  on  her  finger,  and  the  flax-flowers  on 
her  breast,  when,  as  the  train  approached  the  Big 
Stone,  she  observed  close  at  her  side  a  young 
man  dressed  in  mourning,  an  entire  stranger  to 
her,  who  offered  her  his  hand. 

"  Pardon !  noble  sir,"  said  Tina,  "  I  never  saw 
you  before,  and  I  do  not  know  what  you  want." 

"  I  beg  permission,"  said  the  stranger,  "  to 
place  a  green  twig  beside  your  little  nosegay  of 
flax-blossoms." 

Tina  laughed  aloud.  "  Ma  foi ! "  she  ex- 
claimed, "  who  does  not  know  that  I  am  Alan's 
bride  ?  Your  lordship  must  have  heard  from 
gray-haired  old  men,  that  there  are  three  impos- 
sibilities, —  to  uproot  the  forests,  level  the  moun- 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  19 

tains,  and  move  the  rocks ;  but  now  there  is  one 
more  to  be  added  to  the  list,  and  that  is  just 
what  your  lordship  asks  for." 

The  stranger  said  no  more.  He  merely  asked 
her  hand  for  the  dance ;  but 'after  the  first  round, 
perceiving  that  his  courtesy  afforded  Tina  pleas- 
ure, he  continued :  "  If  you  will  not  allow  me 
to  place  a  green  sprig  beside  your  nosegay,  I 
can  lay  a  silver  sprig  on  the  Big  Stone,  for  my 
father  has  left  me  property  enough  to  keep  three 
carriages  and  three  pairs  of  horses." 

"  Alan  is  just  as  rich,  and  refuses  me  nothing," 
answered  Tina. 

After  they  had  danced  round  a  couple  of  times 
more,  the  stranger  began  again :  "  Besides  the 
legacy  of  my  father,  my  mother  has  left  me  two 
forests,  that  employ  twelve  coal-burners,  and  ever 
so  many  people  making  wooden  shoes." 

"  I  must  not  hear  a  word  about  it,"  said  Tina, 
and  her  heart  was  no  longer  quiet. 

They  danced  another  dance,  and  then  the 
nobleman  said,  "  I  have  only  told  you  of  my 
landed  property ;  but  my  uncle  left  me  meadows, 
where  every  year  a  hundred  bullocks  and  just  aa 
many  colts  are  driven  to  pasture.  To  the  silver 


20 


POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 


and  golden  branch,  I  could  also  add  a  sprig  of 
diamonds." 

This  time  Tina  exclaimed,  "  Silence !  I  dare 
'hot  listen  to  you." 

The  nobleman  continued  to  enumerate  what 
he  would  give  to  his  bride.  She  should  have  a 
dress  such  as  no  mantuamaker  on  earth  could 
make,  a  palace  such  as  no  other  human  being 
could  inhabit,  and  there  she  should  be  like  one 
of  the  greatest  queens.  Promises  like  these 
were  more  than  Tina  could  withstand. 

She  gave  the  nobleman  the  little  bunch  of 
flax-blossoms,  together  with  the  ring  that  Alan 
had  given  her.  And  as  night  closed  in,  she 
suffered  him  to  lead  her  away  from  the  meadow, 
to  the  dwelling  he  had  promised  her.  The  far- 
ther they  went,  the  darker  grew  the  sky.  The 
road  stretched  far  away  before  them,  and  one 
little  star  disappeared  after  another,  till  it  was 
very  dark.  Nothing  was  heard  but  a  kind  of 
moaning  noise  in  the  distance,  which  Tina 
thought  was  the  cry  of  the  screech-owl.  Then 
she  grew  anxious,  and  said  to  her  conductor, 
"  We  have  come  a  long  way,  and  yet  I  see 
nothing  but  a  low  wall  that  looks  as  if  it  be- 
longed to  a  churchyard." 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  21 

"  It  is  the  court-yard  that  leads  to  my  resi- 
dence," answered  the  nobleman. 

Tina  passed  through  the  stone  gate,  then  she 
stopped  short,  and  said :  "  I  see  a  cross  there, 
such  as  there  is  on  the  highway  where  a  mur- 
derer is  buried." 

"  That  is  the  weathercock  on  my  roof,"  re- 
plied the  stranger. 

Tina  went  on  a  little  piece,  then  she  stopped 
again.  "  It  looks  exactly  as  if  down  at  our  feet 
was  some  abandoned  stone-quarry,  or  pit,  where 
they  throw  dead  dogs  or  horses."  . 

"  That  is  the  entrance  of  our  house,"  said  her 
companion.  With  these  words,  he  seized  Tina, 
in  his  arms,  and  bore  her  with  him  down  into 
the  pit.  She  had  no  sooner  touched  the  bottom, 
than  the  moon  broke  through  the  clouds,  and  in- 
stead of  the  nobleman  in  silken  attire,  Tina  be- 
held a  skeleton ! 

Horror-struck,  she  sank  on  her  knees,  an4 
cried  for  mercy. 

The  skeleton  answered,  "  Pray,  why  do  you 
shriek !  I  am  Alan,  your  bridegroom.  As  I  was 
returning  to  you,  to  celebrate  our  nuptials,  some 
vagrant  wretches  fell  upon  me,  strangled  me 


22  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

with  the  rope  you  see  about  my  neck,  and  threw 
me  into  a  pit.  My  longing  for  you  was  so  great 
as  to  leave  me  no  peace  even  in  death.  I  came 
to  you  in  the  form  of  a  stranger,  and  since  you 
suffered  yourself  to  be  beguiled  by  a  stranger 
into  faithlessness  to  your  bridegroom,  I  will  now 
give  you  what  I  promised  you,  —  a  robe  of  earth 
and  turf,  such  as  no  mantuamaker  can  make,  a 
dwelling  in  the  damp  grave,  such  as  no  living 
person  inhabits,  and  a  rank  which  the  greatest 
queens  share  with  you  as  soon  as  they  die. 
Give  me  your  hand,  dearest  bride,  and  lie  down 
beside  me,  for  the  hour  is  come  when  I  must  go 
back  to  the  dead." 

At  these  words,  the  skeleton  bound  one  end 
of  the  rope  which  was  around  his  neck  around 
the  neck  of  the  maiden,  with  a  slip-knot  such  as 
no  mortal  hand  could  loosen. 

Tina  passed  the  whole  night  on  her  knees 
beside  the  skeleton,  almost  dead  with  fright,  and 
weeping  bitterly.  Towards  morning,  she  thought 
she  felt  something  move  at  her  feet.  She  looked 
round  and  spied  a  field-mouse,  staring  fixedly  at 
her. 

Almost  at  the  same  moment  a  black  point  ap- 


ORIGtN    OF    THE    BAT.  23 

peared  over  the  grave,  and  a  fluttering  of  wings 
soon  made  her  sensible  of  the  presence  of  a 
great  black  raven,  which  settled  upon  a  withered 
branch,  a  few  steps  from  her.  Raven  and  Field- 
mouse  were  a  wicked  wizard  and  a  wicked  witch 
who  fed  upon  dead  bodies.  They  saluted  each 
other. 

"  Well,  gossip,"  cried  the  Raven,  "  we  are 
met  in  a  lucky  hour.  I  suppose  you  are  select- 
ing out  the  dainty  bit  of  the  pretty  maiden,  that 
you  are  to  eat  first." 

"  Ah ! "  said  the  Field-mouse,  "  if  it  were 
only  not  forbidden  to  touch  living  flesh." 

"  Bah ! "  said  the  Raven,  "  we  '11  wait  here  till 
this  dear  little  creature  becomes  dead  flesh." 

"  Good !  "  said  the  Field-mouse,  "  but  I  speak 
for  the  pretty  little  cheek." 

"  And  I  bargain  for  the  fresh  lips,"  said  the 
jet  black  Raven. 

"  I  '11  gnaw  out  the  fine  large  eyes,"  said  the 
Field-mouse. 

«  And  I  '11  hack  off  the  tender  little  ears." 

This  conversation  froze  the  blood  in  our  Tina's 
veins.  However,  she  mustered  courage  to  say, 
"  I  am  too  young  and  too  little  to  satisfy  you 


SJ4  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

both :  ah !  I  believe  it  would  be  more  to  your 
advantage  to  rescue  me." 

"  Rescue  you ! "  cried  wizard  and  witch  at 
once,  "  how  could  we  do  that  ?  ' 

"  O,  you  could  do  it  well  enough  if  the 
Field-mouse  would  gnaw  the  rope,  and  you, 
Raven,  would  fly  with  me  out  of  this  pit." 

"  And  what  will  you  give  us  if  we  will  do 
it  ?  "  inquired  both  the  cannibals. 

"  I  will  give  you  two  cows  and  their  calves." 

Wizard  and  witch  laughed  aloud. 

"  I  will  add  flax  and  corn  besides." 

Both  laughed  still  louder. 

"  If  that  will  not  satisfy  you,  I  will  give  you  a 
silver  spoon  and  some  plates." 

"  No ! "  screamed  the  Field-mouse,  "  I  need 
neither  silver,  nor  corn,  nor  cattle,  but  I  want 
you  to  get  me  a  pair  of  wings  to  fly  with." 

"  And  I,"  said  the  Raven,  "  want  you  to  get 
me  four  feet,  so  that  I  can  run  the  better." 

"  And  if  you  do  not  do  this  by  to-morrow," 
they  both  added,  "  you  belong  to  us,  body  and 
soul." 

Tina  found  these  conditions  extremely  hard; 
however,  she  preferred  to  accept  them,  rather 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  25 

than  remain  in  the  grave  bound  to  a  skeleton. 
Wizard  and  witch  made  her  take  a  solemn  oath 
to  fulfil  the  stipulations:  then  the  Field-mouse 
gnawed  the  rope,  and  the  Raven  took  up  Tina 
and  flew  with  her  out  of  the  hole,  and  brought 
her  into  a  field  belonging  to  her  father's  farm. 
There  he  set  her  down,  under  an  apple-tree,  and 
told  her  he  would  come  with  his  gossip  to  that 
very  spot,  the  next  evening,  to  receive  their 
wages. 

Tina  scampered  home  as  fast  as  she  could, 
and  .told  the  people  in  the  house  all  that  had 
happened.  Nobody  knew  what  to  advise,  but 
the  old  grandpapa  bethought  himself  of  a  wise 
woman  who  lived  not  far  off,  and  to  her  he 
went,  taking  Tina  with  him. 

He  told  her  the  story,  and  laid  on  her  table 
three  bundles  of  flax  and  a  fat  hen. 

"  This  is  a  bad  business,  very  bad,"  said  the 
wise  woman  j  "  if  you  had  not  taken  the  oath, 
we  could  do  well  enough.  I  know  these  two 
associates.  They  are  wicked  magicians,  and 
they  know  it  is  impossible  to  get  what  they  ask 
for." 

Tina  wept  and  entreated,  and  the  grandfather 


26 


POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 


promised  to  bring  as  much  more  flax  and  a  sec- 
ond fat  hen. 

The  wise  woman  pondered  the  matter.  At 
length  she  said,  "  Listen,  my  child,  and  do  as  I 
tell  you." 

Tina  promised  the  strictest  obedience. 

"  Take  a  knife  that  has  never  cut  flesh,  or  any 
thing  that  comes  from  flesh,  and  walk  towards 
the  hedge,  and  listen  to  the  sound  of  the  wind 
as  it  blows  through  the  grass.  When  you  hear 
a  rustling  like  hail,  you  '11  know  that  it  is  the 
sleep-plant.  Cut  off  the  tops  and  stalks,  tie 
them  up  in  a  little  bunch,  and  carry  it  under  the 
apple-tree.  Then  come  to  me  again." 

Tina  did  as  she  was  bid.  She  went  to  the 
hedge,  she  heard  the  sound  of  the  wind  rustling 
through  the  sleep-plant  like  falling  hail,  she  cut 
off  tope  and  stems  with  a  new  knife,  made  up  a 
little  bunch  of  it,  and  carried  it  under  the  apple- 
tree.  Then  she  went  back  to  the  wise  woman, 
told  her  she  had  obeyed  all  her  directions,  and 
asked  her  what  she  should  do  next.  The  wise 
woman  kept  Tina  with  her  until  evening,  and 
instructed  her  as  to  what  she  was  to  do.  When 
night  carne,  Tina  repaired  to  the  apple-tree,  and 


ORIGIN    OF    THE    BAT.  27 

as  soon  as  it  was  pitch  dark,  the  Field-mouse 
made  her  appearance  and  inquired,  — 

"  How  is  it  with  the  wings  ?    Are  they  ready  ?  " 

"  Not  yet,"  said  Tina,  "  but  they  will  come 
soon." 

"  Quick,  then  ! "  said  the  witch,  "  for  I  am  in 
a  hurry,  and  this  very  night  I  must  be  a  hundred 
miles  from  here." 

"  Be  quiet  a  moment,"  answered  Tina,  "  and 
you  shall  see  your  wish  gratified." 

The  Field-mouse  was  delighted  to  see  how 
politely  Tina  treated  her,  and  thought  to  herself, 
I  '11  wait  a  minute,  Gaffer  Raven  will  be  here 
presently. 

She  approached  the  bundle  of  sleep-weed, 
which  Tina  had  tied  up  like  a  wisp  of  straw, 
and  laid  herself  down  upon  it.  In  the  very  next 
moment,  she  was  sound  asleep.  It  was  not  long 
before  the  Raven  came. 

"  Now,  my  darling,"  said  he  to  Tina,  "  where 
are  the  four  feet  you  are  to  furnish  me  with  ?  " 

"  Ah !  I  could  not  obtain  them  for  love  or 
money,"  said  the  maiden. 

"  Yes,  I  knew  that  beforehand,"  said  the 
Raven,  laughing,  "  now  give  me  the  half  of  your 
dear  little  soul,  and  your  dear  little  body." 


28  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Just  wait  a  bit,  dear  Mr.  Raven,  if  you  will 
have  pity  upon  a  poor  little  maiden,  I  will  give 
you  a  dainty  meal." 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  Raven. 

"  I  've  caught  a  mouse  in  a  trap,  that  is  full  as 
large  as  a  rat,  and  I  've  laid  it  down  there." 

Tina  pointed  to  the  Field-mouse.  The  Raven 
blinked  at  it  with  hungry  eyes.  "  A  choice  bit, 
indeed,  which  I  shall  not  refuse.  But  still  I  shall 
insist  upon  my  rights." 

«  Well,  eat,  a*nd  after  that  do  as  you  please ; 
take  all  you  are  entitled  to." 

The  Raven  did  not  stop  for  a  second  thought, 
he  pounced  upon  the  Field-mouse  and  swal- 
lowed it  whole.  Thereupon  the  Field-mouse 
waked  up.  She  found  she  was  in  somebody's 
stomach,  and  she  began  to  scream,  and  kick  and 
plunge  about  most  furiously,  and  scratch  so  vig- 
orously, that  she  made  with  her  four  feet  four 
holes  in  the  belly  of  the  Raven,  so  that  her  legs 
came  out  through  the  holes;  but  as  his  plump 
paunch  made  a  strong  barrier  to  further  progress, 
she  could  get  no  farther,  and  just  then  the  wise 
woman  came  running,  and  with  her  hazel- wand 
she  touched  the  Raven  with  the  Field-mouse 
half  in  and  half  out  of  his  body,  saying,  — 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  BAT.  29 

"  Begone,  spawn  of  the  wicked  serpentj  Your 
desires  are  fulfilled.  You,  Raven,  have  four  feet 
for  running,  and  you,  Field-mouse,  have  two 
wings  for  flying ;  so  neither  of  you  have  any  fur- 
ther claim  upon  the  maiden.  As  a  punishment 
for  your  diabolical  cunning,  and  as  a  warning  to 
others,  you  and  your  posterity  shall  henceforth 
be  bird  and  yet  no  bird,  beast  and  yet  no  beast, 
and  neither  bird  nor  beast  shall  own  you." 

Thus  originated  the  "  Bat." 

This  story  of  Tina  is  not  only  intended  to 
teach  us  that  we  should  not  break  our  promises, 
but  also  to  warn  us  against  being  haughty  and 
fastidious,  lest  we  reject  what  is  really  good,  and 
make  choice  of  what  is  any  thing  but  desirable. 


ST.    VALENTINE'S    RING. 


THERE  was  once  a  king  who  lived  right  happy 
and  contented,  and  who  especially  rejoiced  in  a 
daughter  who  passed  for  the  most  beautiful  lady 
in  the  whole  universe.  This  beloved  daughter 
was  named  Tryphena. 

All  who  knew  her  said  without  envy,  that 
Tryphena  was  as  good  as  she  was  pretty,  and 
on  this  account  the  king  would  rather  by  far 
have  lost  all  his  horses  and  retinue,  his  castles, 
and  every  fortress  in  the  land,  than  to  have  had 
the  least  harm  happen  to  her. 

One  day,  messengers  from  a  neighboring 
prince  were  announced  to  the  king.  They  were 
sent  by  the  Prince  of  Komorre,  a  powerful  and 
mighty  lord,  who  possessed  a  country  of  equal 
extent  with  that  governed  by  Tryphena's  father. 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  31 

The  messengers  laid  at  the  king's  feet  honey, 
linen,  and  a  dozen  little  sucking-pigs,  according 
to  the  custom  of  the  country  at  that  time,  and 
explained  to  him  that  her  admirer  had  been 
present  in  disguise  at  the  king's  court,  not  long 
before,  and  had  himself  seen  the  young  princess. 
He  had  conceived  a  most  ardent  passion  for  her, 
and  desired  to  make  her  his  wife,  at  whatever 
cost. 

This  proposal  troubled  both  the  king  and  Try- 
ohena  exceedingly.  For  this  Prince  of  Komorre 
was  a  giant,  and  was  considered  one  of  the 
greatest  reprobates,  since  Cain,  that  had  ever 
lived  upon  the  earth. 

From  a  child  he  had  found  his  pleasure  in  do- 
ing evil,  and  his  wickedness  even  then  was  so 
norrible,  that,  whenever  he  left  his  castle,  his  own 
mother  used  to  run  and  ring  the  alarm-bell,  to  let 
the  people  know  that  he  was  out,  and  give  them 
an  opportunity  to  provide  for  their  safety.  Later 
in  life,  when  he  had  grown  •  larger,  and  become 
lord  of  the  land  and  people,  there  had  been  no 
bounds  to  his  cruelty ;  it  was  beyond  every  thing 
within  the  memory  of  man. 

It  was  said,  that  one  morning  when  he  left  his 


32  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

castle,  he  met  a  child  who  was  driving  a  colt  to 
pasture ;  he  immediately  fell  upon  the  poor  child 
and  killed  it.  At  other  times,  when  he  returned 
from  hunting,  and  had  taken  no  game,  he  would 
set  his  dogs  upon  the  poor  people  in  the  fields, 
and  suffer  them  to  be  torn  in  pieces,  as  if  they 
had  been  wild  beasts. 

But  the  most  infamous  thing  of  all  was,  that 
he  had  had  four  wives,  one  after  another,  who 
had  all  died  suddenly,  without  any  one's  knowing 
how  or  why ;  but  it  was  universally  believed  that 
he  had  put  them  to  death,  either  by  sword,  fire, 
water,  or  poison. 

This  the  king  and  Tryphena  knew,  as  well  as 
all  the  common  people,  and  therefore  the  king 
answered,  that  his  daughter  was  too  young. 

The  messengers  replied,  in  a  very  insolent  man- 
ner, that  the  Prince  of  Komorre  would  receive 
no  such  answer  as  that,  but  that  he  had  com- 
manded them  to  declare  war  against  the  king,  if 
they  did  not  bring  the  princess  home  with  them. 
The  king  replied,  that  they  might  do  as  they 
pleased. 

The  messengers  then  took  up  a  handful  of 
straw,  lighted  it,  and  threw  it  up  into  the  air- 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  33 

and  as  the  wind  blew  the  sparks  in  every  direc- 
tion, they  declared  that  thus  would  their  prince 
shed  his  wrath  over  the  country  of  the  king. 

Tryphena's  father  was  a  man  of  courage,  and 
a  threat  of  this  kind  inspired  him  with  no  terror. 
He  assembled  his  people  and  prepared  for  de- 
fence. A  few  days  after  this,  news  came  that 
the  Prince  of  Komorre  had  crossed  the  boun- 
dary with  a  powerful  army,  and  with  trumpets 
and  cannons  was  advancing  upon  the  capital. 

The  king  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  his 
people,  and  sallied  forth  to  meet  the  enemy. 
When  the  king  had  departed,  and  Tryphena  was 
left  alone,  weeping,  the  door  suddenly  opened, 
and  a  hermit  entered,  who  had  the  reputation  of 
leading  a  very  holy  life,  and  of  understanding 
things  quite  unintelligible  to  common  people. 
He  informed  her  that  the  two  armies  were  met 
in  battle ;  that  her  father  would  be  defeated,  and 
that  she  must  rescue  him  by  giving  her  hand  to 
the  Prince  of  Komorre. 

Tryphena  began  to  moan  and  lament,  but  the 

hermit  said  to  her,   "  Fear  nothing,   Tryphena. 

Go  quietly  to  the  Prince  of  Komorre;  through 

you  shall  he  ^receive  the  punishment  of  his  evil 

3 


34  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

deeds.  Here,  take  this  milk-white  silver  ring, 
and  mark  my  words,  —  whenever  the  prince  con- 
ceives any  harm  against  you,  the  ring  will  be- 
come as  black  as  a  raven.  The  rest  you  will 
learn  hereafter." 

The  ring  lent  the  princess  fresh  courage,  and 
she  agreed  to  do  what  he  said. 

Swiftly  the  hermit  hastened  away,  and  an- 
nounced the  joyful  news  to  the  contending 
armies.  Still,  notwithstanding  the  acquiescence 
of  his  daughter,  the  king  would  never  have  con- 
sented to  the  marriage  had  not  the  Prince  made 
such  solemn  promises  that  he  was  persuaded  to 
accept  him  as  a  son-in-law.  ^ 

The  marriage  was  celebrated  with  unheard-of 
splendor.  On  the  first  day  an  entertainment 
was  given  to  six  thousand  guests,  and  on  the 
following,  the*. same  number  of  poor  people 
were  feasted,  the  young  pair  themselves  waiting 
upon  them  at  table.  Then  followed  dancing- 
parties,  at  which  all  the  musicians  of  both  king- 
doms were  in  attendance,  with:' every  variety  of 
instrument. 

At  last,  when  all  the  meats  and  all  the  pastry 
were  devoured,  and  all  the  wine-fl^cs  drained 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  35 

of  their  contents,  each  one  returned  to  his  home, 
and  the  Prince  of  Komorre  repaired  to  his  own 
castle  with  the  beautiful  Tryphena. 

Tryphena  found  the  giant  much  more  amiable 
than  he  had  been  represented ;  she  could  do 
with  him  just  as  she  pleased ;  he  was  as  docile  as 
a  little  dog,  and  as  gentle  as  a  lamb.  The  dun- 
geons of  the  castle  were  thrown  open ;  no  one 
now  suffered  any  violence,  and  the  people  said 
in  astonishment,  "  Wonderful !  Since  the  beau- 
tiful Tryphena  has  become  the  bride  of  our 
prince,  he  no  longer  thirsts  for  tears  and  blood ! " 

But  auspicious  as  appearances  now  were, 
Tryphena  still  felt  sad  whenever  she  thought  of 

the  sudden  death  which  had  overtaken  all  the 

^ 
other  wives  of  the  giant,  and  she  could  only  still 

her  disquiet  by  going  down  into  the  castle 
chapel  and  there  engaging  in  prayer. 

About  this  time,  there  was  a  great  convoca- 
tion of  lords  and  knights,  which  the  Prince  of 
Komo,rre  was  under  the  necessity  of  attending. 
He  took  a  sorrowful  leave  of'  his  dear  Tryphena, 
handed  her  all  the  keys  from  garret  to  cellar,  and 
\vent  away  with  a  great  retinue.  Six  months 
passed  before  he  returned.  His  ardent  desire  to 


36  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

return  to  Tryphena  at  length  brought  him  home 
in  all  haste,  and  quite  unexpectedly,  and  he 
entered  her  room  just  as  she  was  busied  in  mak- 
ing a  little  lace  cap  for  an  infant. 

At  this  sight,  the  Prince  turned  pale ;  he  in- 
quired for  whom  she  was  making  that  little  cap, 
and  when  Tryphena  replied  that  it  was  for  their 
future  son,  the  giant  threw  her  a  terrific  glance, 
and  went  away  without  saying  a  word. 

Still  the  princess  suspected  no  harm,  but  as 
she  looked  down  again  to  continue  her  sewing, 
she  saw  with  horror  that  her  silver  ring  was 
black  as  jet !  She  uttered  a  loud  shriek,  for  she 
remembered  the  words  of  the  hermit,  and  the 
danger  that  awaited  her. 

As  may  readily  be  supposed,  what  most  trou- 
bled Tryphena  was,  that  she  was  entirely  igno- 
rant of  the  reason  why  her  husband  was  angry 
with  her.  In  vain  she  revolved  the  matter  over 
in  her  mind,  all  day  long,  and  even  till  late  into 
the  night,  and  as  her  anxiety  would  allow  her  no 
rest,  she  arose  and  went  down  into  the  chapel. 
Hardly  had  she  knelt  down,  when  the  castle 
clock  struck,  and  its  finger  pointed  to  midnight. 
In  the  same  moment,  the  graves  in  the  chapel 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  37 

sprung  open,  and  forth  came  the  wives  of  the 
giant  in  their  winding-sheets  ! 

Half-dead  with  terror,  Tryphena  attempted  to 
fly,  but  the  corpses  called  out  to  her :  "  Stay, 
poor  wife,  the  giant  is  lurking  about  to  kill  you ! " 

"  Me ! "  said  the  princess,  hardly  able  to  speak 
for  terror ;  "  what  have  I  done  that  he  desires  my 
death  ?  " 

"  It  has  been  foretold  to  him,  that  his  own  son 
should  kill  him,  as  a  punishment  for  his  crimes ; 
for  this  reason  he  desires  to  murder  you,  as  he 
has  murdered  us." 

Tryphena  burst  into  tears.  "  O  Heaven !  " 
she  moaned,  "  what  shall  I  do  ?  " 

"  Escape  from  the  castle  of  the  giant,  and  re- 
turn home  to  the  land  of  your  father." 

"  That  is  impossible,"  replied  the  princess ; 
"  the  giant's  big  dog  lies  in  the  court,  and  keeps 
watch." 

"  Give  him  the  poison  with  which  his  master 
killed  me,"  said  the  first  corpse. 

"  How  shall  I  get  down  to  the  ground  from 
the  high  wall?" 

"  Take  the  rope  with  which  I  was  strangled," 
said  the  second  corpse. 


38  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  But  what  will  guide  me  in  the  darkness  ?  " 

"  The  flames  that  consumed  me,"  said  the 
third  corpse. 

"  But  how  am  I  to  travel  so  great  a  distance  ?  " 

"  "With  the  aid  of  this  staff  that  fractured  my 
skull,"  said  the  fourth  corpse. 

The  princess  took  staff,  flame,  rope,  and  poi- 
son :  with  the  poison  she  silenced  the  dog ;  she 
descended  the  wall  by  means  of  the  rope ;  and, 
leaning  on  the  staff,  she  followed  the  flames 
which  lighted  her  way  to  her  father's  kingdom. 

That  very  next  morning  the  giant  intended 
to  put  Tryphena  to  death;  but  she  was  gone, 
and  he  sought  her  in  vain  in  every  room  and 
corner.  When  he  found  she  was  not  in  the  cas- 
tle, he  mounted  hastily  into  the  watch-tower, 
and  looked  out,  at  the  four  points  of  the  com- 
pass. He  looked  to  the  north,  and  there  croaked 
a  raven ;  he  looked  to  the  east,  there  flew  a  swal- 
low ;  he  looked  to  the  south,  there  swept  along  a 
sea-gull ;  he  looked  to  the  west,  there  fluttered  a 
timid  turtle-dove. 

He  knew  at  once  that  Tryphena  had  fled  in 
that  direction,  and  he  immediately  had  his 
horse  saddled,  and  prepared  to  pursue  her. 


ST.  VALENTINE!S  RING.  39 

The  poor  princess  was  still  in  the  great  forest 
which  surrounded  the  giant's  castle,  and  the 
ring,  which  had  again  turned  black,  now  warned 
her  that  the  giant  was  approaching.  She  fled 
hastily  over  the  heath,  till  she  came  to  a  shep- 
herd's hut,  that  was  occupied  by  no  one  but  an 
old  magpie,  which  hung  in  a  cage  on  the  wall. 
Here,  in  this  hut,  the  unhappy  fugitive  concealed 
herself  the  whole  day,  weeping  and  bemoaning 
her  hard  fate,  and  when  night  came  she  set  out 
again  upon  her  journey,  choosing  the  most  retired 
paths  through  the  cornfields. 

But  the  giant  took  the  high  road,  and  there- 
fore did  not  fall  in  with  Tryphena.  Two  days 
long  he  sought  in  vain,  then  he  turned  back,  and, 
as  ill  luck  would  have  it,  he  went  into  the  shep' 
herd's  hut  on  the  heath.  The  magpie  had  over- 
heard Tryphena's  lamentations,  and  her  tongue 
being  loosed,  she  chattered  to  herself  continually, 
repeating  the  words  she  had  heard  :  "  Poor  Try- 
phena !  poor  Tryphena !  "  The  giant  immedi- 
ately perceived  that  the  princess  had  been  in  this 
place ;  he  called  his  bloodhound,  and  put  him 
upon  seeking  out  her  tracks,  arid  thus  he  fol- 
lowed up  the  footsteps  of  the  flying  princess. 


40  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Tryphena  meantime  had  continued  her  way,  and 
at  length  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  heir  father's 
territory.  But  she  was  unable  to  proceed  farther ; 
she  was  forced  to  lie  down  in  a  thicket,  and  there 
she  gave  birth  to  a  remarkaoly  beautiful  boy. 
She  took  the  child  in  her  arms,  caressed  it,  and 
wept  for  joy  and  sorrow  at  the  same  time. 

All  at  once  a  falcon  flew  thither  and  alighted 
before  her.  By  the  golden  ribbon  around  its 
neck,  she  perceived  that  it  was  her  father's  fal- 
con. She  called  him  by  name,  held  out  to  Tiim 
the  silver  ring,  and  said :  "  Fly,  my  falcon,  fly, 
and  carry  this  ring  to  my  father,  that  he  may 
know  that  I.  am  in  great  danger." 

The  bird  understood  what  she  meant,  took  the 
ring  in  its  beak,  and  flew  away  with  the  swift- 
ness of  lightning.  Not  long  afterwards,  the 
giant  came  up  with  his  bloodhound,  and  Try- 
phena, having  parted  with  her  ring,  had  no  warn- 
ing of  his  approach,  until  she  heard  the  voice  of 
the  cruel  wretch.  She  trembled  all  over  with 
terror,  and  hardly  had  time  enough  to  wrap  the 
baby  in  her  mantle,  and  conceal  him  in  a  hollow 
tree,  so  swiftly  rode  up  the  giant  on  his  fleet 
horse. 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  41 

When  he  saw  Tryphena  he  sent  forth  a  roar 
like  that  of  an  enraged  beast,  rushed  upon  her, 
and  with  one  stroke  severed  her  head  from  her 
body.  He  did  not  observe  the  child  in  the  hol- 
low of  the  tree,  but  whistled  to  his  dog,  and 
rode  off. 

The  falcon  carried  the  ring  directly  to  the 
court  of  the  king.  The  king  was  seated  at  his 
table,  and  was  just  talking  of  his  beloved  daugh- 
ter, when  the  falcon  flew  in,  and  laid  the  silver 
ring  on  the  table.  The  king  immediately  per- 
ceived that  it  was  the  hermit's  ring,  and  he  sent 
for  the  holy  man,  who  informed  him  how  things 
stood.  "  Up,  up,  sir  king ! "  he  cried  ;  "  have  your 
horses  saddled,  your  daughter  is  in  danger." 

The  horses  were  quickly  ready,  and  the  king, 
with  the  hermit  and  a  numerous  retinue,  set  off 
to  aid  the  princess.  The  falcon  flew  on  before 
them  to  show  the  way,  and  the  horses  kept  up 
with  the  bird ;  but  when  they  arrived  at  the 
place,  they  found  the  princess  lying  dead,  and 
the  child  crying  in  the  hollow  tree.  The  king 
threw  himself  on  the  earth,  tore  his  hair,  and 
moaned  so  as  to  move  the  very  oaks  to  pity; 
but  the  holy  man  soothed  him,  and  bade  him  be 


42  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

silent,  then  went  up  to  the  corpse,  said  a  prayer 
over  it,  and  uttered  the  command,  "  Arise !  " 

The  corpse  did  so.  "  Take  your  head,  and 
your  child,  and  follow  us  to  the  giant's  castle," 
was  the  second  command  of  the  hermit.  The 
dead  obeyed  also  here,  and  the  astonished  com- 
pany mounted  their  horses,  and  set  off  at  a  quick 
gallop  to  the  giant's  castle.  But  swift  as  the 
horses  galloped,  the  corpse  steadily  preceded 
them,  holding  in  the  left  arm  the  dissevered 
head,  and  in  the  other  the  new-born  child,  and 
thus  they  all  arrived  before  the  giant's  castle. 
The  giant  had  seen  them  coming,  and  had  or- 
dered the  drawbridge  to  be  raised. 

But  the  hermit  took  the  dead  princess  by  the 
hand,  approached  the  castle  moat,  and  cried  with 
a  loud  voice,  "  Prince  of  Komorre,  I  bring  you 
your  wife,  such  as  she  is,  through  your  murder- 
ous hand,  together  with  the  new-born  child  that 
belongs  to  you.  Will  you  receive  them  under 
your  roof  ?  "  The  giant  gave  no  answer.  The 
hermit  repeated  these  words  a  second  time,  but 
no  voice  answered ;  and  when  he  had  done  so 
a  third  time,  and  still  no  reply  came,  he  took  the 
child  from  the  arms  of  the  corpse,  and  placed  it 


ST.  VALENTINE'S  RING.  43 

on  the  ground.  O  wonder !  The  child  began 
to  walk,  wholly  alone,  and  without  any  assist- 
ance !  It  went  to  the  edge  of  the  castle  ditch, 
took  up  a  handful  of  sand,  flung  it  through  the 
air  against  the  castle,  and  cried  with  a  bold 
voice :  "  Thus  be  thy  ashes  scattered,  like  this 
handful  of  sand,  horrible  wretch !  The  measure 
of  thy  iniquity  is  full !  " 

In  the  same  instant,  the  towers  fell  with  a 
stunning  noise,  the  walls  were  rent  asunder,  and 
the  whole  castle  became  a  heap  of  ruins,  in 
which  were  buried  the  giant  and  all  those  who 
had  taken  part  in  his  wickedness. 

Then  the  hermit  went  up  to  the  corpse,  which 
still  bore  the  dissevered  head,  took  the  head  from 
the  left  arm,  placed  it  again  between  the  shoul- 
ders, and  pronounced  a  prayer ;  the  eyes  instantly 
opened,  and  the  beautiful  princess  was  again 
alive,  and  both  she  and  the  land  were  freed  from 
the  wicked  prince. 

With  joyful  shout  and  acclamation,  the  king 
and  his  retinue  brought  the  princess  and  the 
beautiful  child  back  to  the  castle,  and  all  praised 
the  holy  man,  who  was  no  other  than  Saint  Val- 
entine ! 


THE   THREE   ALMS. 


A  LONG  time  ago  there  lived  two  young  lords, 
who  were  as  rich  as  they  could  ask  to  be,  and  as 
handsome  as  their  mother  could  desire  to  have 
them.  Mylio,  the  oldest  brother,  was  nearly 
seventeen  years  old,  and  Tonyk  was  fourteen. 
Both  had  received  an  excellent  education,  so  that 
either  might  have  been  priest  or  magistrate,  had 
he  been  old  enough,  and  desired  to  become  so. 

Tonyk  was  kind-hearted,  and  always  ready  to 
help  the  poor,  and  to  pardon  offences  ;  his  heart 
was  ever  disposed  to  love,  and  his  hand  to  give. 
Mylio,  on  the  contrary,  gave  to  no  one,  not  even 
what  he  owed  them ;  he  was  always  trying  to 
cheapen  what  he  bought ;  and  if  any  one  injured 
him,  he  revenged  himself  upon  them  with  all  the 
severity  in  his  power. 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  45 

Their  father  died  when  they  were  little  chil- 
dren, and  their  mother,  an  excellent  lady,  had 
educated  th3m  herself.  As  the  boys  grew  older, 
she  thought  of  sending  them  to  a  distant  uncle, 
that  they  might  profit  by  his  good  counsel,  and 
some  time  or  other  succeed  to  his  great  posses- 
sions. So  one  day  she  gave  them  each  a  new 
hat,  shoes  with  silver  buckles,  a  sky-blue  cloak,  a 
purse  full  of  gold,  and  a  good  horse ;  and  thus 
equipped,  she  sent  them  to  live  with  her  father's 
brother.  The  two  youths  set  off  highly  delighted 
to  visit  a  land  that  was  wholly  new  to  them. 
They  suffered  their  horses  to  go  so  fast,  that  on 
the  third  day  even  they  reached  a  foreign  king- 
dom, where  other  trees  grew  than  those  they  were 
accustomed  to  at  home,  and  other  fruits  were 
ripening  in  the  fields. 

One  morning,  as  they  were  riding  over  a  cross- 
way,  they  saw  a  poor  woman  sitting  beside  the 
stone  cross,  by  the  way-side,  who  kept  her  face 
covered  with  her  apron.  Tonyk  drew  up  his 
horse,  and  asked  what  was  the  matter.  The 
beggar-woman  answered,  sobbing,  that  her  son, 
her  only  support,  had  died  the  day  before,  and 
that  she  was  now  left  to  the  mercy  of  strangers. 


46  POPULAR    LKGKNDS   .OF    BRITTANY. 

Tonyk  was  touched  with  compassion ;  but  My- 
lio,  who  had  ridden  on,  and  stopped  some  way 
off,  cried  out  to  him,  mockingly :  "  You  surely 
are  not  going  to  believe  every  beggar  you  meet 
with  on  the  way !  This  woman  is  only  looking 
out  for  the  purses  of  the  passers-by." 

Tonyk  answered,  "  Speak  not  so  harshly,  my 
dear  brother  ;  see  how  your  hard  words  make  her 
weep.  Only  see  now,  how  much  in  figure  and 
age  she  resembles  our  mother." 

Then,  turning  to  the  beggar,  he  said,  as  he 
reached  her  his  purse,  "  Take  it,  my  poor  woman. 
I  cannot,  indeed,  do  much,  but  Heaven  will  fur- 
ther help  you." 

The  beggar-woman  took  the  purse,  kissed  it, 
and  said  to  Tonyk,  "  Noble  lord,  you  have  made 
a  poor  woman  rich :  refuse  not  this  nut  from  my 
hand;  there  is  a  wasp  in  it,  with  a  diamond 
sting." 

Tonyk  took  the  nut,  thanked  the  poor  woman, 
and  continued  his  way  with  Mylio.  It  was  not 
long  before  they  reached  the  edge  of  a  wood,  and 
there  they  saw  a  half-naked  boy,  who  was  look- 
ing about  in  the  holes  of  the  trees,  and  singing 
in  a  most  doleful  manner.  From  time  to  time 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  47 

he  would  beat  his  frozen  hands  together  to  warm 
them,  and  then  say  in  a  singing  tone,  "  O,  I  'm 
freezing,  I.'m  freezing."  They  could  hear  his 
teeth  chatter. 

At  this  sight,  the  tears  came  into  Tonyk's 
eyes,  and  he  said  to  his  brother :  "  Ah,  Mylio ! 
how  that  poor,  innocent  boy  must  suffer  with 
the  cold!" 

"  He  must  be  a  very  chilly  body,"  answered 
Mylio.  "  I  do  not  find  the  cold  so  cutting." 

"  But  you  have  on  a  satin  vest,  and  over  that 
a  cloth  coat,  and  over  that  still  the  sky-blue 
cloak ;  but  he  is  half  naked." 

"  Ha ! "  laughed  Mylio,  "  he  is  a  little  peasant 
lad." 

"  Ah ! "  replied  Tonyk,  "  it  goes  to  my  very 
heart,  when  I  think  that  you  might  have  been 
born  in  his  place.  I  cannot  see  him  suffer  so." 

At  these  words,  he  stopped  his  horse,  called 
the  boy  to  him,  and  asked  him  what  he  was  do- 
ing. "  I  am  hunting  for  titmice,  that  sleep  in 
the  holes  of  the  trees,"  answered  the  boy. 

"  And  what  do  you  do  with  the  titmice  ?  " 

"  When  I  have  caught  enough,  I  shall  carry 
them  to  the  city  to  sell,  so  that  I  may  buy  me  a 


48  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

coat,  that  will  keep  me  as  warm  as  if  the  dear 
sun  shone  all  the  time." 

"  Have  you  found  any  yet  ?  "  asked  Tonyk. 

"  Only  one  as  yet,"  replied  the  boy,  showing 
a  little  cage  made  of  rushes,  in  which  sat  a  tit- 
mouse. 

"  Give  it  to  me ;  I  will  buy  it  of  you,"  said 
Tonyk,  and  threw  the  sky-blue  cloak  over  him. 
"  Wrap  yourself  in  it,  you  need  it  more  than  I." 

The  two  brothers  now  set  off  again  on  their 
journey.  Mylio  ridiculed  his  brother,  and  indeed 
Tonyk  had  at  first  to  suffer  considerably  from 
the  north  wind,  for  want  of  his  warm  cloak. 
But  when  they  had  got  through  the  wood,  the 
air  grew  milder,  the  mist  melted  away,  and  the 
sun  threw  its  friendly  rays  through  the  clouds. 
They  soon  came  to  a  meadow,  where  a  spring 
was  flowing,  near  which  they  found  an  old  man 
sitting,  covered  with  rags,  with  a  beggar's  pack 
upon  his  shoulder.  When  he  espied  the  travel- 
lers, he  called  to  them  with  tones  and  gestures 
of  earnest  entreaty.  Tonyk  went  up  to  him. 
"  What  do  you  wish,  old  man  ?  "  he  asked,  taking 
off  his  hat  to  the  venerable  old  man. 

"  Ah,  my  dear  gentlemen ! "  he  answered,  "  you 


c.A 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  49 

see  my  hairs  are  gray,  and  my  cheeks  are  hollow. 
I  am  so  weak  from  extreme  old  age,  that  my 
limbs  can  no  longer  carry  me.  I  must  perish 
here,  if  one  of  you  will  not  sell  me  his  horse." 

"  You  buy  one  of  our  horses,  you  beggar ! " 
cried  Mylio,  in  a  contemptuous  tone  ;  "  how  will 
you  pay  for  it  ?  " 

"  Look  at  this  hollowed  acorn,"  answered  the 
beggar,  "  there  sits  a  spider  in  it  that  spins 
threads  stronger  than  steel ;  give  me  up  one  of 
your  horses,  and  I  will  give  you  the  acorn  and 
spider  for  it." 

The  eldest  brother  broke  out  into  a  loud  laugh. 
"  Do  you  hear,  Tonyk  ? "  he  cried  out.  "  I  be- 
lieve the  old  man  is  an  impudent  fool." 

But  the  younger  brother  mildly  replied,  "  A 
poor  man  cannot  offer  more  than  he  has."  He 
dismounted  from  his  horse,  approached  the  old 
man,  and  said  :  "  I  give  you  my  horse,  good  old 
man,  not  on  account  of  the  price  which  you  offer 
for  it,  but  for  pure  compassion's  sake ;  it  is 
yours." 

The  old  man  wished  him  thousand-fold  bless- 
ings, mounted  the  horse  with  his  help,  and  disap- 
peared from  the  meadow. 
4 


50  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

But  Mylio  could  not  forgive  this  last  alms- 
giving of  his  brother. 

"  Senseless  prodigal ! "  he  cried,  angrily,  "  are 
you  not  ashamed  of  the  condition  into  which 
your  folly  has  brought  you?  You  think,  for- 
sooth, after  you  have  squandered  all  your  own 
property,  to  share  my  purse,  my  cloak,  and  my 
horse.  You  have  deceived  yourself.  You  may 
now  gain  wisdom  through  adversity.  The  pri- 
vations which  follow  your  prodigality  may  teach 
you  economy  for  the  future." 

"  You  are  right,  my  brother,"  answered  Tonyk, 
gently.  "  It  will  be  no  bad  lesson  for  me,  and  1 
am  not  disposed  to  escape  the  consequences  at 
your  expense.  It  never  occurred  to  me  to  lay 
claim  to  your  money,  cloak,  or  horse  ;  so  ride  on 
your  way  quietly  and  happily,  without  troubling 
yourself  about  me." 

Mylio  returned  no  answer,  but  gave  the  spur 
to  his  horse,  and  galloped  away.  Tonyk  fol- 
lowed on  foot,  but  he  harbored  no  grudge 
against  his  brother. 

They  found  themselves  not  far  from  a  moun- 
tain gorge,  through  which  the  road  led.  It  was 
called  the  Valley  of  Torment,  for  on  the  very  top 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  51 

of  the  rocks  that  towered  up  on  both  sides  of  it 
there  lived  a  giant,  who  laid  in  wait  for  travellers, 
like  a  hunter  for  his  prey.  This  giant  was  blind, 
and  he  had  no  feet ;  but  he  had  so  sharp  an  ear, 
that  he  could  hear  the  grass  grow  in  the  ground, 
and  he  was  a  great  magician.  His  servants  were 
two  trained  eagles,  one  white  and  the  other  red ; 
these  he  sent  out  to  seize  the  prey,  when  he  heard 
it  coming.  When  the  people  of  that  country 
were  obliged  to  pass  through  this  ravine,  they 
took  off  their  shoes,  and  went  barefoot,  not  dar- 
ing to  breathe  loud,  for  fear  that  the  giant  should 
hear  them.  Mylio  knew  nothing  of  this,  so  he 
rode  proudly  through  the  valley,  and  the  clatter 
of  his  horses'  hoofs  upon  the  stones  waked  the 
giant. 

"  Hallo,  my  huntsmen !"  he  cried,  "  where  are 
you?"  White  eagle  and  red  eagle  were  im- 
mediately at  hand.  "  Go  and  bring  me  for  sup- 
per what  is  going  through  the  valley  down  be- 
low," cried  the  giant.  Swift  as  arrows,  the  two 
eagles  shot  down  into  the  gorge,  seized  Mylio  by 
the  sky-blue  cloak,  and  dragged  hirr  up  the 
heights,  to  the  dwelling  of  the  giant. 

At  this  moment  Tonyk  arrived  at  the  entrance 


52  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

of  the  ravine.  He  saw  his  brother  snatched  up 
into  the  ah*  by  two  eagles,  and  he  uttered  a  loud 
cry,  and  rushed  to  the  spot.  But  the  eagles  van- 
ished with  Mylio  in  a  few  minutes,  behind  the 
clouds  which  covered  the  summits  of  the  rocks. 
Stunned  and  motionless  with  terror,  Tonyk  stood 
looking  up  to  the  rocky  walls,  which  rose  up 
steep  and  perpendicular  till  they  reached  the 
sky. 

"  O  my  brother !  my  brother ! "  he  cried  out  at 
last;  "  how  shall  I  rescue  my  brother?". 

Suddenly  he  heard  three  little,  fine  voices  close 
by,  which  said :  "  Who  would  despair  like  that, 
at  every  little  misfortune  ?  " 

Tonyk  looked  around  astonished.  "  Who 
speaks  to  me,  and  where  are  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  In  your  coat-pocket,"  answered  the  three 
voices. 

Tonyk  felt  in  his  pocket,  and  took  out  the  nut, 
the  acorn,  and  the  little  rushen  cage.  He  re- 
membered the  little  creatures  that  were  shut  up 
in  them,  and  he  said :  "  Will  you  rescue  my 
brother  Mylio?" 

"  Yes,  yes,  yes  ! "  answered  the  tiny  creatures, 
with  their  three  several  voices. 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  53 

"  And  how  will  you  begin,  my  poor  play- 
things ?  "  asked  Tonyk  farther. 

"  Open  our  cages,  and  you  shall  see." 

Tonyk  did  as  they  desired.  The  spider  has- 
tened to  a  neighboring  tree,  and  began  to  spin  a 
glittering  web,  as  fine  as  silk,  but  stronger  than 
steel.  Then  the  titmouse  flew  thither,  took  the 
spider  on  his  back,  and  mounted  with  her  higher 
and  higher,  till  the  web,  whose  threads  formed  a 
kind  of  staircase,  reached  the  top  of  the  rocks. 
Tonyk  now  climbed  the  marvellous  ladder,  which 
reached  to  the  heights  above.  The  wasp  flew 
on  before  him,  merrily  buzzing  the  while,  and 
thus  they  came  together  to  the  dwelling  of  the 
giant. 

In  a  great  stone  cavern,  as  high  as  a  church, 
sat  the  giant,  without  eyes  or  feet.  He  seemed 
to  be  in  great  spirits,  for  he  was  rocking  to  and 
fro,  like  an  enormous  poplar  swayed  by  the  wind, 
and  he  sang  in  a  loud  voice  while  he  sharpened 
a  big  knife  with  which  he  was  going  to  kill  poor 
Mylio,  who  lay  close  beside  him,  with  his  arms 
and  legs,  tied  upon  his  back,  so  that  he  looked 
like  a  chicken  ready  trussed  for  the  spit.  Both 
eagles  were  in  a  corner  by  the  hearth,  one  turn- 


54  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

ing  a  spit,  and  the  other  laying  wood  on  the  fire. 
Amidst  the  noise  of  his  singing  and  the  whetting 
of  the  knife,  the  giant  did  not  observe  the  en- 
trance of  Tonyk  and  his  little  companions.  But 
the  red  eagle  saw  him,  and  darted  upon  him,  and 
was  about  to  seize  him  with  his  claws ;  but  the 
wasp  was  quickly  at  hand,  and  put  out  the 
eagle's  eyes  with  his  diamond  sting.  White 
eagle  went  to  his  brother's  assistance,  but  he 
fared  no  better,  for  he  too  had  his  eyes  put  out. 
Then  the  wasp  fell  upon  the  giant,  who  had 
risen  up  at  the  outcry  of  his  servants,  and  with 
his  sting  he  left  him  neither  rest  nor  repose.  The 
giant  sent  forth  a  horrible  roar ;  but  strike  about 
as  he  would,  he  could  not  hit  the  wasp,  for  he 
had  no  eyes  to  see  with,  and  he  could  not  get 
away,  for  he  had  no  feet  to  run  with.  At  last  he 
threw  himself  down,  with  his  face  to  the  earth, 
to  protect  it  from  the  stings  of  his  tormentor. 
The  spider  hastened  up  to  him,  and  spun  a  net 
over  him  as  fine  as  silk  and  as  strong  as  steel ; 
so  there  he  lay  imprisoned,  without  power  to  stir. 
Loudly  he  called  his  two  eagles  to  his  aid,  but 
all  in  vain.  They  were  both  mad  with  pain,  and 
as  they  knew  the  giant  was  overpowered,  they 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  55 

feared  him  no  longer,  but  resolved  to  avenge 
themselves  upon  him  for  the  long  slavery  in 
which  he  had  held  them.  So  they  flew  at  their 
former  master,  beat  him  violently  with  their 
wings,  and,  full  of  rage,  tore  his  flesh  through 
the  meshes  of  the  steel  net.  With  every  stroke 
of  their  bills  they  tore  off  a  piece  of  his  flesh,  ,and 
they  did  not  desist  till  the  bare  bones  appeared. 
Then  they  sat  down  to  rest ;  but  the  flesh  of  a 
magician  is  so  indigestible,  that  they  fell  down 
dead  on  that  very  spot. 

Tonyk  loosed  his  brother's  bonds,  embraced 
him  with  tears  of  joy,  and  went  with  him  out  of 
the  giant's  cave  to  the  edge  of  the  rocks.  There 
quickly  appeared  the  titmouse  and  the  wasp, 
harnessed  like  horses  to  the  little  rushen  cage, 
which  was  changed  into  a  stately  coach,  and 
they  invited  the  two  brothers  to  take  their  seats 
in  it.  The  spider  took  his  place  behind  as  foot- 
man, and,  with  the  swiftness  of  the  wind,  away 
they  went.  Tonyk  and  Mylio  passed  in  this 
manner  with  the  greatest  ease  over  meadows, 
woods,  mountains,  and  villages ;  for  in  the  air 
the  roads  are  everywhere  of  the  very  best  descrip- 
tion, till  they  came  to  their  uncle's  castle.  There 


56  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

the  coach  descended  to  the  earth,  and  rolled  to- 
wards the  drawbridge,  where  the  brothers  found 
both  their  horses  tied.  On  the  saddle  of  the 
horse  that  belonged  to  Tonyk  hung  the  purse 
and  the  cloak,  only  the  purse  was  much  larger 
and  better  filled,  and  the  cloak  was  decorated 
with  precious  stones.  Tonyk  looked  with  aston- 
ishment towards  the  coach,  to  ask  what  all  this 
meant,  but  tu.  "oach  had  vanished,  and  instead 
of  the  wasp,  the  titmouse,  and  the  spider,  there 
stood  three  glittering  angels  ! 

The  brothers  fell  down  upon  the  ground,  struck 
with  amazement  and  admiration ;  but  the  most 
beautiful  and  glorious  angel  of  the  three  ap- 
proached Tonyk,  and  said :  "  Fear  not,  dearest 
youth.  We  are  called  Good  Works ;  the  poor 
beggar-woman,  the  freezing  boy,  the  lame  old 
man,  were  no  other  than  ourselves.  Remain  as 
good  as  you  have  been  thus  far ;  and  you,  Mylio, 
learn  a  lesson  from  what  you  have  seen,  that 
even  the  humblest  and  smallest  of  God's  crea- 
tures can  be  useful." 

At  these  words  they  rose  in  the  air,  ascending 
higher  and  higher,  till  they  vanished  at  last  like 
swallows  behind  the  clouds. 


THE    THREE    ALMS.  57 

Mylio  embraced  his  brother  Tonyk,  whose 
kind  heart  had  saved  his  life,  and  became  ever 
afterwards  benevolent  and  charitable  as  his 
brother. 


THE  LITTLE  MAN  OF  THE  RUSHES. 


ONCE  on  a  time,  before  an  almanac  was  ever 
heard  of,  or  any  body  had  ever  thought  of  reck- 
oning the  years,  there  lived  on  the  finest  farm  in 
the  whole  valley  an  honest  peasant,  who  had 
one  daughter,  who  was  called  Barbary,  or  more 
commonly  Bab.  She  was  famed,  far  and  wide, 
for  her  beauty ;  but  above  every  thing  else,  she 
was  counted  the  best  dancer  and  the  most 
daintily  dressed  maiden  in  the  country. 

When  she  went  to  church  on  Sundays,  she 
wore  a  little  cap  embroidered  with  gold  ;  a  lace 
kerchief  about  her  neck  ;  five  petticoats,  one  over 
the  other ;  and  shoes  with  silver  buckles ;  ««o  that 
every  body  looked  at  her  with  envy,  and  out  of 
ill-will  they  turned  up  their  noses  at  her. 

Bab  troubled  herself  little  about  that,  for  the 


THE    LITTLE    MAN    OF    THE    RUSHES.  59 

| 

handsomest  young  men  of  the  village  nocked 
round  her,  and  whispered  her  praises  in  each 
other's  ears,  so  that  she  often  blushed  up  to  the 
eyes  at  overhearing  what  they  were  saying  about 
her. 

Among  all  the  young  fellows  that  gazed  with 
eyes  of  love  on  Miss  Bab,  there  was  one  in  par- 
ticular who  was  deeply  smitten  with  her  charms. 
This  was  her  father's  head  workman  on  the  farm, 
an  active  laborer,  and  an  honest-hearted  blade,  but 
simple  and  bashful,  and  as  homely  as  a  tailor. 
For  this  reason  the  girl  would  not  listen  to  him, 
although  he  was  in  other  respects  a  worthy  per- 
son, and  whenever  he  accosted  her,  she  always 
used  to  tell  him  that  he  was  a  clumsy  ass.  But 
Joachim  loved  her  oift  of  the  very  depths  of  his 
heart,  and  he  could  bear  to  have  her  scold  him ; 
but  it  troubled  him  sorely  that  she  whom  he 
loved  should,  at  the  same  time  that  the  very 
sight  of  her  was  a  joy  to  him,  occasion  him  such 
unspeakable  vexation. 

One  evening,  as  he  was  driving  the  horses 
home  from  the  pasture,  he  stopped  at  a  swampy 
watering-place  to  let  them  drink.  He  stood  a 
little  apart,  with  his  head  sunk  upon  his  breast, 


60  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

and  he  sighed  heavily,  for  he  was  thinking  of 
Bab,  when  all  at  once  a  voice,  issuing  from 
the  rushes  of  the  swamp,  called  out  to  him : 
"  What  troubles  you  so,  Joachim  ?  You  must 
not  be  so  easily  discouraged." 

Joachim,  full  of  astonishment,  raised  his  head, 
and  said,  "  Who  is  it  that  speaks  to  me  ?  " 

"  It  is  I,  the  little  man  of  the  rushes,"  an- 
swered the  same  voice. 

"  I  see  no  one,"  Joachim  called  out. 

"  Look  straight  before  you,  and  you  '11  see  a 
handsome  green  frog  in  among  the  rushes.  I 
take  all  kinds  of  shapes,  just  as  I  please,  and  I 
can  even  make  myself  invisible  when  I  've  a 
mind  to." 

"  Can  you  ever  be  seen  in  your  ordinary 
shape  ?  " 

"  Why  not  ?  You  shall  see  that,  forthwith,  if 
that  will  amuse  you." 

With  these  words,  the  frog  sprung  upon  the 
back  of  one  of  the  horses,  and  suddenly  changed 
into  a  tiny  dwarf  dressed  in  green,  with  very 
delicate,  shining  boots.  Joachim  was  rather 
frightened,  and  he  drew  back  several  paces ;  but 
the  dwarf  said  he  need  not  be  afraid,  for  he 


THE  LITTLE  MAN  OF  THE  RUSHES.      61 

would  do  him  no  harm,  but  on  the  contrary  he 
would  be  of  use  to  him. 

"  But  how  have  I  deserved  your  favor  ?  "  said 
the  husbandman,  a  little  mistrustful. 

"  You  did  me  a  service  last  winter,"  answered 
the  little  man  of  the  rushes.  "  My  brother  and  I 
are  at  strife  with  the  Kobolds,  who  live  in  the 
holes  and  caves,  because  they  consider  it  a  crime 
in  us  to  be  well  disposed  to  mortal  men.  So  we 
were  obliged  to  escape  from  them,  and  conceal 
ourselves  under  the  form  of  animals,  and  from 
that  time  we  have  been  in  the  habit  of  wander- 
ing about  under  different  shapes,  and  thus  I 
have  had  an  opportunity  of  becoming  acquaint- 
ed with  you." 

«  How  so  ?  " 

"  Do  you  remember  that  about  three  months 
ago,  when  you  were  working  in  the  alder  thicket, 
you  found  a  robin  redbreast  caught  in  a  snare  ?  " 

"  O  yes ! "  replied  Joachim,  "  I  remember  it 
well.  I  gave  him  his  freedom,  and  said,  '  Thou 
eatest  no  corn ;  there,  take  thy  freedom,  bird  of 
heaven ! ' ' 

"  Well  now,  that  robin  redbreast  was  I,  and  at 
that  moment  I  resolved  to  be  your  friend ;  and 


62  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

to  give  you  a  proof  of  it,  I  will  get  Bab  for  your 
wife,  for  I  know  you  love  her  dearly." 

"  Ah !  little  man,  if  you  could  do  that !  I 
would  give  you  every  thing  in  the  world  but 
body  and  soul." 

"  Let  me  manage  it ;  between  now  and  a 
couple  of  months,  the  farm  and  the  maiden  shall 
be  yours." 

"  How  will  you  bring  that  about  ?  " 

"  That  you  shall  certainly  see.  In  the  first 
place,  smoke  your  pipe,  eat,  sleep,  and  trouble 
yourself  about  nothing." 

Joachim  thought  the  conditions  were  not  hard, 
and  he  would  certainly  take  up  with  them. 
Thereupon  he  thanked  the  dwarf,  pulled  on  his 
hat,  and  drove  the  horses  on  to  the  farm-yard. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday.  Bab  rose  earlier 
than  usual,  and  went  out  to  the  cow-stalls,  of 
which  she  had  the  care.  To  her  great  astonish- 
ment, she-  found  every  thing  already  in  order ; 
fresh  straw  was  laid,  fresh  fodder  was  placed  in 
the  manger,  the  cows  were  milked,  and  the  milk 
made  into  butter. 

As  she  had  told  Joachim,  the  evening  before, 
that  she  should  be  up  betimes  to  be  ready  to  go 


THE    LITTLE    MAN    OF    THE    RUSHES.  63 

to  church,  she  naturally  thought  that  he  had 
done  all  this,  and  she  thanked  him  for  so  doing ; 
but  Joachim  answered  shortly,  that  he  did  not 
know  what  she  meant.  Nevertheless  Bab  re- 
mained of  the  same  opinion. 

These  services  were  now  done  for  her  every 
day.  Never  were  the  stalls  so  clean,  nor  the 
cows  so  sleek  and  fat.  Morning  and  evening 
Bab  found  her  pans  full  of  milk,  and  a  pound 
of  fresh  butter  delicately  bordered  with  green 
leaves.  In  a  few  weeks  she  became  accustomed 
to  this  state  of  things,  and  consequently  did  not 
get  up  until  the  sun  was  high  in  the  skies,  and 
it  was  time  to  think  of  breakfast  and  dinner. 

But  this  labor  was  soon  taken  out  of  her 
hands,  for  one  morning,  when  she  rose  from  her 
bed,  she  found  the  house  swept,  the  kitchen 
utensils  brightly  scoured,  the  porridge  on  the  fire, 
and  the  bread  cut  in  slices,  so  that  she  had 
nothing  to  do  but  step  to  the  street-door,  and 
call  in  the  men  and  maidservants. 

Again  she  thought  this  must  be  Joachim's  do- 
ings, and  she  could  not  get  rid  of  the  thought 
that  Joachim  must  make  an  excellent  husband 
for  a  woman  who  liked  rest  and  pleasure. 


64  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

In  fact,  Bab  needed  only  to  express  a  wish  be- 
fore Joachim,  when  it  was  immediately  fulfilled. 

When  the  wind  blew  so  cold,  or  the  sun 
glowed  so  warm,  that  Bab  feared  to  spoil  her 
complexion  by  going  out  to  the  spring,  she 
would  say  softly,  "  I  wish  that  my  water-pails 
were  standing  full  in  their  places,  and  my  pitch- 
ers were  filled." 

Then  she  would  go  to  gossip  with  a  neighbor, 
and  when  she  came  back,  there  stood  the  pails 
and  the  pitchers  on  the  stone  table,  filled  accord- 
ing to  her  wish. 

If  it  was  troublesome  to  her  to  bake  bread,  or 
inconvenient  to  heat  the  oven,  she  had  only  to 
whisper,  "  I  wish  to  my  heart  I  had  my  six  fif- 
teen-pound loaves  on  the  table,  over  the  tray," 
and  in  a  couple  of  hours  afterward,  the  six  loaves 
were  there ! 

If  she  thought  the  market  too  far  off,  and  the 
roads  too  bad,  she  would  say,  the  day  before, 
"  Why  am  I  not  back  again  with  the  empty  milk- 
pails  and  butter-bowls,  a  pound  of  black  cherries 
in  my  dish,  and  money  in  my  pocket  ?  "  The  next 
morning  when  she  rose,  she  found,  at  the  foot  of 
her  bed,  the  milk-pails  empty,  and  the  butter- 


THE    LITTLE    MAN    OF    THE    RUSHES.  65 

bowls  likewise,  a  pound  of  black  cherries  in  the 
wooden  dish,  and  a  bright  gold  piece  in  her 
pocket. 

But  she  was  not  long  satisfied  with  all  this. 
Would  she  send  a  message  to  another  maiden, 
or  bespeak  any  thing  she  wanted,  did  she  wish 
to  buy  a  ribbon  from  the  city,  or  to  know  when 
a  church  festival  or  a  dance  would  take  place, 
Joachim  was  always  at  hand ;  she  needed  only 
to  say  what  she  wanted,  and  it  was  immediately 
done.  This  went  so  far,  that  she  would  revenge 
herself  sometimes  on  her  young  friends  in  this 
way,  and  often  play  them  many  a  harmless  trick. 

In  this  way  it  was  that  she  could  not  live  with- 
out Joachim,  because  in  her  own  mind  she  con- 
sidered him  as  the  cause  of  all  these  things. 
He  served  her  for  rest,  as  well  as  for  pleasure,  for 
her  friendships  and  her  spites ;  in  one  word,  he 
was  any  thing  and  every  thing  to  her. 

When  things  were  in  this  train,  the  little  man 
of  the  rushes  advised  his  protege  to  renew  his 
proposals  again,  and  this  time  Bab  actually 
heard  him  to  the  end.  He  was  too  awkward 
and  homely  for  a  lover,  but  she  thought  he  would 
do  very  well  for  a  husband.  If  she  married  him, 
5 


DO  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

she  could  sleep  till  breakfast-time  like  a  city 
lady,  she  could  wear  fine  clothes,  she  could  gos- 
sip at  a  neighbor's  door,  with  her  hands  under 
her  apron,  and  every  Sunday  she  could  go  to  a 
dance.  Joachim  cared  for  every  thing  for  her. 
He  labored  for  her,  he  took  care  of  the  house  for 
her.  Joachim  was  the  beast  of  burden  which 
drew  the  wagon,  and  Bab  sat  above  on  the  hay, 
and  plied  the  whip  to  make  him  go  faster. 

All  this  the  maiden  thought  over  in  her  mind, 
so  she  told  the  young  man  he  might  see  her 
father,  and  she  would  do  as  he  said.  But  she 
knew  very  well  beforehand  that  her  father  would 
give  his  consent,  for  he  had  often  declared,  that 
he  knew  no  one  who  could  superintend  a  farm 
better  than  Joachim. 

So  the  next  month  they  were  married,  and  a 
few  days  afterwards  the  father  died,  and  left  the 
house  and  farm  to  the  young  folks.  This  was 
for  Joachim  no  small  charge.  But  the  little  man 
of  the  rushes  came  to  his  aid.  He  worked  for 
him  as  a  servant,  and  he  did  more  than  six  hired 
men  would  have  done  ;  he  kept  the  tools  and  the 
horses  in  excellent  order ;  he  repaired  what  was 
going  to  decay,  and  he  chose  the  best  time  for 


THE  LITTLE  MAN  OF  THE  RUSHES.     67 

sowing  and  harvest.  If  there  was  work  to  be 
done  in  haste,  the  little  man  would  call  his  broth- 
ers, and  all  the  dwarfs  would  hasten  to  the  spot, 
with  mattocks,  sickles,  or  rakes;  did  they  lack 
draught  cattle,  the  little  man  would  send  Joa- 
chim where  his  brothers  lived,  and  he  had  only  to 
say,  "  Dear  dwarfs,  be  so  good  as  to  lend  me  a 
pair  of  oxen,  or  a  span  of  horses,  with  all  thereto 
belonging,"  and  in  a  moment  he  had  what  he 
wanted.  For  all  this,  the  little  man  asked  no 
other  pay  than  a  milk-pan  of  milk  every  day,  and 
on  this  account  Joachim  loved  him  as  if  he  had 
been  his  own  son.  Bab,  on  the  contrary,  hated 
him,  and  not  without  reason.  From  the  very 
morning  after  her  marriage,  she  found,  to  her  as- 
tonishment, that  the  help  which  had  been  so  long 
extended  to  her  was  withheld,  and  when  she  be- 
gan to  find  fault  with  Joachim  on  this  account, 
and  he  did  not  rightly  understand  what  she 
meant,  the  little  man  laughed  aloud,  and  told  her 
that  he  had  performed  all  these  services  for  her, 
but  that  he  merely  did  so  before  her  marriage,  and 
only  for  Joachim's  sake.  Now,  he  added,  he  had 
other  things  to  do,  and  she  must  begin  again  to 
take  charge  of  the  household  affairs. 


68       POPULAR  LEGENDS  OF  BRITTANY. 

Bab,  seeing  her  hopes  thus  deceived,  was  filled 
with  hatred  and  bitterness  towards  the  little  man. 
Every  morning,  when  she  had  to  rise  before  day 
to  milk  the  cows  or  go  to  market,  and  every 
evening,  when  she  had  to  churn  till  midnight, 
she  cursed  the  little  man  who  had  ruined  all  her 
expectations  of  an  idle,  pleasure-seeking  life. 
And  then,  when  she  saw  Joachim's  sun-burnt 
face,  his  bristly  hair,  and  his  squinting  eyes,  her 
rage  knew  no  bounds. 

"  No,  cursed  dwarf,"  she  would  say,  "  I  will 
never  forgive  you  for  seducing  me  into  taking 
Joachim  for  a  husband,  and  I  will  be  sure  to  pay 
you  for  it  some  time  or  other." 

One  day  she  was  invited  to  a  wedding  in  a 
neighboring  village,  and  the  saddle-horse  hap- 
pened to  be  sick,  and  the  others  were  in  use  on 
the  farm ;  and  as  she  did  not  choose  to  go  on 
foot,  she  'conquered  her  pride,  and  asked  the  li ttle 
man  for  a  saddle-horse.  He  sent  her  out  on  the 
moor  to  his  brothers,  and  he  charged  her  to  be 
sure  to  remember  to  ask  piece  by  piece  for  every 
thing  that  belonged  to  a  horse. 

Bab  went,  and  she  thought  she  could  do  no 
better  than  to  say,  "  Little  dwarfs,  my  dear 


THE    LITTLE    MAN    OF    THE    RUSHES.  69 

friends,  lend  me  a  black  horse,  with  eyes,  mouth, 
ears,  saddle,  and  bridle."  Immediately  the  horse 
stood  before  her;  she  mounted  it,  and  rode  to 
the  wedding.  On  the  way,  she  noticed  that 
every  body  looked  after  her  with  surprise,  and 
laughed,  and  some  said,  "  Look,  look,  she  has 
left  her  horse's  tail  hanging  in  the  stable." 

Bab  looked  behind  her,  and  sure  enough  her 
horse  had  no  tail !  She  had  forgotten  to  ask  for 
the  tail,  and  the  dwarfs  had  taken  her  exactly  at 
her  word.  Bab  grew  red  with  rage  ;  she  tried  to 
make  the  horse  go  faster,  but  blows  and  kicks 
were  of  no  avail,  the  horse  would  go  his  own 
gait,  and  Bab  was  constrained  to  overhear  the 
jokes  of  the  passers-by  at  her  expense.  Raving 
against  the  little  man  of  the  rushes,  she  came 
home  at  night,  for  she  had  no  doubt  that  he  had 
played  her  this  trick  intentionally,  and  she  re- 
solved to  take  vengeance  on  him  at  the  first  op- 
portunity. 

Spring  had  now  opened,  and,  May  being 
the  festival  time  of  the  dwarfs,  the  little  man 
begged  permission  of  Joachim  to  invite  his 
brothers  to  a  feast,  and  dance  in  the  evening  on 
the  barn-floor.  Joachim  naturally  could  not  say 


70  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

no.  He  told  Bab  to  prepare  the  barn-floor,  to 
spread  out  her  whitest  sheets,  and  to  set  out  an 
abundance  of  fine  wheat-bread  and  butter,  to  re- 
serve all  the  morning's  and  evening's  milk  for 
them,  with  other  appropriate  accompaniments. 
To  his  great  surprise,  Bab  made  not  a  word  of 
objection.  She  prepared  every  thing, 'spread  the 
sheets,  and  set  out  the  bread  and  the  milk ;  but 
in  the  place  where  the  dwarfs  were  to  seat  them- 
selves, she  strewed  all  the  red-hot  coals  which 
she  had  drawn  out  of  her  oven,  so  that  the  little 
man  and  his  guests  were  burnt  to  the  bone,  and 
with  loud  shrieks  they  ran  away.  They  came 
back  again,  however,  each  one  with  a  bucket  of 
water,  which  he  poured  on  the  coals,  so  that  the 
building  might  not  be  injured.  But  after  they 
had  extinguished  the  fire,  they  arranged  them- 
selves in  a  circle,  and  danced  around  house  and 
farm-yard,  singing  at  the  same  time  :  — 

"  With  treacherous  heart  and  cruel  hand, 

You  've  burned  with  fire  your  faithful  friends ; 
Henceforth  we  quit  both  house  and  land, 
With  us  your  prosperous  fortune  ends." 

And  that  very  same  evening  they  vanished  from 
the  country,  and  never  showed  themselves  again. 


THE  LITTLE  MAN  OF  THE  RUSHES.      71 

With  them  vanished  prosperity  and  success. 
After  the  little  man  left,  Joachim  had  no  one  to 
care  for  him,  or  assist  him  in  the  labors  of  his 
farm ;  instead  of  thrift  came  waste  and  misfor- 
tune, and  Joachim  became  poorer  from  day  to 
day,  till  at  last  he  mourned  himself  to  death. 
Then  proud  Bab  was  driven  from  the  farm,  and 
forced  to  take  service  with  other  people,  where 
she  had  to  endure  a  great  many  hardships. 


THE  STROLLING  BEGGAR. 


THE  days  when  good  fairies  and  spirits  de- 
scended to  the  earth  to  make  mortals  happy,  or  to 
console  them  in  misfortune,  are  long  since  gone 
by.  People  do  not  believe  in  them  now-a-days, 
and  therefore  they  have  discontinued  their  visits, 
and  a  great  many  beliefs  which  are  now  enter- 
tained will  have  passed  away  in  the  same  man- 
ner, in  the  course  of  a  century  hence,  because 
people  will  then  think  and  feel  differently  from 
what  they  do  now.  Whether  this  change  of 
views  takes  place  because  people  are,  as  they 
affirm,  actually  richer  in  spiritual  endowments, 
or  poorer  in  that  respect,  is  a  matter  we  will  not 
trouble  ourselves  about;  but  at  the  time  when 
every  body  believed  in  such  good  spirits,  it  hap- 
pened that  a  young  man  named  Melchior  set 
out  upon  his  travels. 


THE.  STROLLING    BEGGAR.  73 

Melchior  was  in  the  prime  of  his  youth,  and  he 
had  neither  father  nor  mother,  nor  any  relations 
whatever.  His  guardian  had  given  him  a  walk- 
ing-staff, pressed  three  dollars  into  his  hand,  and 
sent  him  forth  into  the  wide  world  to  seek  his 
fortune. 

Melchior  had  already  passed  over  a  good  piece 
of  road,  and  he  was  thinking  over  to  himself 
what  he  had  better  do  with  this  vast  sum  of 
money.  While  he  was  cogitating  the  matter,  he 
drew  near  a  village,  and  he  saw  just  without  the 
village,  on  the  road  behind  the  little  church,  a 
corpse  lying  on  the  ground.  He  waited  there  till 
some  people  came  along,  and  he  inquired  of  them 
why  this  dead  body  was  left  lying  there. 

"  It  is  a  poor  travelling  beggar,"  they  said, 
"  who  last  evening  breathed  his  last  out  here  in 
the  open  air ;  he  left  nothing  behind  him  but  the 
poor,  ragged  clothes  he  has  on,  and  so  the  priest 
would  not  take  the  trouble  to  have  him  properly 
buried." 

"  And  was  there  no  one  who  would  furnish  a 
paltry  coffin  and  pay  the  surplice  fees,  when  the 
priest  is  so  hard-hearted  ?  " 

The   people   said,   "  No,"    and   Melchior   ex- 


74  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

claimed,  "  No  ?  But  no  one  knows  how  nearly 
this  may  concern  him.  The  poor  man  shall  not 
lie  here  and  waste  away",  the  sport  of  the  people 
and  the  prey  of  the  ravens.  I  have  three  dollars, 
if  that  will  suffice ;  I  am  sure  I  shall  get  through 
the  world  somehow  or  other." 

He  begged  an  introduction  to  the  base  priest ; 
to  whom  he  counted  out  the  burial  fees,  and 
with  the  rest  of  the  money  he  bought  a  coffin. 
He  remained  until  the  corpse  was  interred ;  but 
the  service  took  no  more  time  than  a  smith 
would  take  to  shoe  a  horse,  for  a  bad  priest 
prays  according  to  his  pay.  Melchior  covered 
up  the  grave  decently,  planted  a  green  bush  on 
the  mound,  wished  the  dead  a  peaceful  rest,  and 
went  on  his  way. 

After  a  short  time,  he  became  hungry  and 
thirsty,  and  then  he  remembered  that,  of  all  the 
money  his  guardian  had  given  him  for  his  travel- 
ling expenses,  not  a  cent  remained.  He  went 
into  the  wood,  and  looked  for  berries  and  other 
wild  fruit,  and  when  he  had  gathered  what  he 
wanted,  he  looked  around  upon  the  little  birds 
who  were  hopping  among  the  branches,  and 
pecking  for  worms  in  the  holes  of  the  trees,  and 
he  said  to  himself:  — 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  75 

"  The  birds  are  much  better  off  than  men ;  they 
need  neither  butler  nor  baker ;  the  broad,  blessed 
light  of  heaven  belongs  to  them,  and  the  earth  is 
their  garden,  in  which  they  find  their  appropriate 
food,  the  insects  are  their  game,  the  grass  their 
barley-field,  and  there  is  fruit  for  them  every- 
where. Yes,"  he  added,  "  they  have  reason  to 
sing  and  twitter  the  whole  day  long." 

Full  of  these  thoughts  he  had  gone  deeper  in- 
to the  wood,  but  his  step  grew  gradually  slower, 
and  at  length  he  sat  down  under  a.  tall  oak,  and 
soon  fell  asleep. 

As  he  lay  there  sleeping,  he  began  to  dream, 
and  it  seemed  to  him  that  he  saw  the  strolling 
beggar  whom  he  had  just  had  buried  appear  be- 
fore him ;  but  his  ragged  clothes  were  changed 
into  glittering  raiment,  and  upon  his  head  was 
a  coronet  sparkling  with  diamonds.  While  he 
was  gazing  at  him,  and  wondering  if  it  were  he 
or  not,  he  heard  a  voice  that  came  from  the  mouth 
of  the  apparition,  which  thus  addressed  him :  — 

"  Melchior,  attend  to  my  words !  I  am  the 
strolling  beggar,  Stephen,  whose  body  you  have 
had  buried.  Long  as  I  wandered  around  among 
men,  I  found  not  one  who  deserved  my  favor ; 


76  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

for  I  am  no  mortal  man,  but  a  powerful  being 
who  rules  over  the  spirit-world,  and  also  over 
subterranean  treasures.  But  what  all  denied  me 
during  my  lifetime,  you  have  done  for  me  in 
death.  Now,  hear  me :  presume  not  to  think 
that  the  birds  in  the  trees  are  better  off  than 
yourself  or  than  other  men,  for  you  possess  a 
higher  intelligence  than  they,  and  you  were  born 
to  a  more  glorious  destiny,  and  therefore  is  it 
that  you  had  your  option  to  do  as  you  did,  or 
to  keep  your  three  dollars,  and  suffer  my  body  to 
decay  in  the  open  air.  But  after  the  deed  comes 
the  recompense,  and  that  you  may  perceive  this 
to  be  so,  hear  me  further,  and  mark  me  well,  for 
it  is  no  dream. 

"  Not  far  from  here,  in  a  level  field,  stands  a 
house  which  you  will  easily  recognize  by  its  red 
and  green  weathercock,  in  which  lives  a  man 
with  a  daughter  as  fair  as  the  day,  and  as  gentle 
as  a  babe  in  the  cradle.  Go  thither,  knock  at 
the  door,  and  say  that  they  know  already  why 
you  have  come,  and  the  man  will  receive  you 
into  his  house,  and  the  rest  you  will  soon  learn 
yourself.  Only  do  not  forget,  when  you  stand  in 
need  of  assistance,  to  call  out :  — 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  77 

1  Help,  dead  beggar-man,  friendly  shade  ! 
Myself  I  cannot  help  or  aid ! ' " 

After  these  words,  the  apparition  and  the 
dream  vanished  together,  and  Melchior  awaked. 
He  marvelled  greatly  over  what  he  had  dreamed ; 
but  after  much  reflection,  he  thought  best  to  try 
and  see  if  there  was  any  thing  in  it.  So  he 
went  over  the  field  and  searched  about  for  the 
house.  Night  was  coming  on,  so  that  it  cost 
him  some  trouble  to  find  it ;  but  at  last,  seeing 
a  flock  of  pigeons,  he  followed  their  course,  and 
soon  came  in  sight  of  the  red  and  green  weather- 
cock. 

Melchior  knocked  at  the  door,  and  said,  as  he 
had  been  directed,  that  it  was  already  known 
to  the  people  of  the  house  why  he  had  come. 

Immediately  the  man  of  the  house  appeared, 
a  feeble  old  man,  whose  head  was  shaking  with 
palsy,  and  who  was  supported  by  his  daughter, 
a  pretty,  fresh-looking  maiden,  who  looked,  at  her 
father's  side,  like  the  ivy  blossoming  on  an  old, 
ruined  wall. 

Both  saluted  Melchior  in  the  most  friendly 
manner,  and  brought  him  into  a  beautiful 
apartment.  Melchior  was  pressed  to  sit  by  the 


78  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

old  man's  settle,  on  a  chair  of  satin,  while  his 
daughter  prepared  the  evening  repast. 

Melchior  wondered  greatly  over  this  reception, 
and  particularly  over  the  blooming  face  of  the 
maiden,  whom  he  could  not  gaze  at  enough,  and 
the  longer  he  looked  at  her/  the  prettier  he 
thought  she  was,  till  at  last  his  heart  beat  like 
an  old-fashioned  timepiece. 

"  Ah ! "  he  thought,  in  his  mind,  "  how  happy 
must  he  be,  who,  alone  and  undisturbed,  can 
chat  with  this  lovely  maiden  ! " 

When  the  supper  was  ended,  and  Lizzy  (as 
the  maiden  was  called)  was  clearing  away  the 
tea-things,  the  -old  man  turned  to  Melchior,  and 
said :  "  We  have  entertained  you  to  the  best  of 
our  ability,  but  not  with  the  pleasure  with  which 
we  should  do  so,  if  our  house  were  not  visited  by 
a  terrible  calamity.  Formerly  we  had  about 
twenty  horses  and  forty  cows,  but  an  evil  sprite 
has  got  into  the  stables,  and  horses  and  cows 
have  vanished  one  after  another  ;  and  as  often  as 
we  buy  more,  these  also  disappear  in  the  course 
of  a  single  night.  No  means  of  driving  away 
the  evil  sprite  has  succeeded,  and  as  I  can  keep 
no  cattle,  the  whole  of  this  farm  lies  fallow.  I 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  79 

have  long  been  expecting  the  return  of  my  cou- 
sin Matthias,  but  he  has  been  drawn  for  the  war, 
and  we  hear  nothing  from  him,  and  I  know  not 
whether  he  is  living  or  dead.  So  at  last  I  have 
given  out  word  in  all  the  towns  throughout  the 
country,  that  whoever  would  rid  my  stables  of 
the  wicked  elf  should  receive  my  daughter  as 
his  wife,  and  the  whole  farm  as  her  marriage 
portion." 

"  Alas ! "  he  added,  with  tears  in  his  eyes, 
"  many  have  come,  but  not  one  has  ever  returned ; 
ah1  have  disappeared  in  the  stable,  as  the  horses 
and  cows  did  before  them." 

Melchior,  who  had  the  greatest  confidence  in 
the  words  of  the  apparition,  because  every  thing 
had  thus  far  turned  out  just  as  he  had  said,  re- 
plied, that  he  hoped  to  overpower  the  wicked 
spirit. 

He  asked  leave  to  make  a  fire  in  the  stable, 
took  his  travelling  staff  and  a  stout  club  in  his 
hand,  and  was  conducted  to  the  stable  by  Lizzy. 

The  building  into  which  he  was  brought  was 
an  enormous  stable,  divided  into  two  parts,  one 
half  being  designed  for  the  cows,  and  the  other 
for  the  horses ;  but  all  the  stalls  were  empty,  and 


80  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

the  spiders  had  spun  their  great  webs  in  them 
without  let  or  hinderance. 

Melchior  lighted  a  fire  on  the  pavement,  and 
waited  to  see  what  would  happen.  For  the  first 
quarter  of  an  hour,  he  heard  nothing  but  the 
crackling  of  the  wood ;  in  the  second  quarter  of 
an  hour,  he  heard  nothing  but  the  whistling  of 
the  wind  through  the  broken  window-pane ;  in 
the  third  quarter  of  an  hour  he  heard  nothing  but 
the  gnawing  of  the  worms  in  the  beams ;  but  in 
the  fourth  quarter  of  an  hour,  there  began  to  be 
a  rushing  and  roaring  among  the  stones  of  the 
paved  floor,  the  heaviest  stone  slowly  rose  up, 
and  a  dragon's  head  issued  forth  out  of  the 
ground,  that  was  as  big  as  a  barn-door,  and  flat 
as  a  viper's  head,  and  in  its  forehead  glittered  a 
row  of  eyes  of  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow. 

Now  the  beast  placed  a  pair  of  powerful  red 
claws  on  the  pavement,  fixed  its  eyes  on  Mel- 
chior, and,  with  a  fearful  hiss,  left  its  hole.  His 
long,  scaly  body  was  wreathed  up  in  enormous 
coils,  as  it  came  up  like  an  endless  cable  out  of 
the  hole.  Melchior  was  a  bold  youth,  but  never- 
theless at  this  sight  the  blood  froze  in  his  veins. 
Already  he  felt  the  poisonous  breath  of  the  drag- 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  81 

on  blowing  upon  him,  and  he  called  out  in  his 
anguish  :  — 

"  Help,  dead  beggar-man,  friendly  shade ! 
Myself  I  cannot  help  or  aid." 

And  that  very  moment  the  apparition  of  his 
dream  stood  by  his  side. 

"  Fear  not,  Melchior,"  said  he,  "  but  attack 
the  monster  boldly." 

Melchior  raised  his  club,  advanced  upon  the 
monster,  swung  his  staff,  and  after  a  few  sturdy 
blows  upon  the  head,  the  dragon  lay  dead  upon 
the  floor. 

In  the  morning,  Melchior  left  the  stable,  and 
called  the  people  to  take  away  the  dead  dragon. 
At  the  sight  of  the  monster,  the  stoutest-hearted 
were  horror-struck,  and  started  back  with  terror. 

"  Be  not  afraid,"  said  Melchior ;  "  he  will  do  no 
more  harm,  —  he  is  dead.  Henceforth  the  stalls 
are  safe  again,  and  no  more  cows  or  horses  will 
be  destroyed." 

With  a  long  rope  the  men  dragged  the  dragon 
out  of  the  stable,  the  length  of  his  body  being 
twice  the  length  of  the  whole  farm. 

The  father  embraced  Melchior  in  great  joy, 
and  kept  his  promise  by  giving  him  Lizzy  for  his 
6 


82  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

wife,  and  the  whole  farm  for  her  dower.  A  short 
time  after  this  he  died. 

Melchior  and  Lizzy  were  the  happiest  people 
in  the  world,  and  there  was  nothing  that  they 
could  wish  for  to  add  to  their  happiness.  But 
one  evening  when  they  were  sitting  at  table  eat- 
ing their  supper,  the  door  opened,  and  a  soldier 
entered,  who  was  so  tall  that  his  head  reached  the 
cieling.  Lizzy  recognized  her  cousin  Matthias  ; 
he  had  come  back  from  the  war,  to  marry  his 
cousin  Lizzy,  —  not  that  he  cared  for  her,  but  for 
the  sake  of  the  marriage-portion. 

When  he  saw  how  things  had  gone,  he  was 
wild  with  rage,  but  he  was  careful  to  conceal  his 
feelings  from  the  young  couple.  Melchior  re- 
ceived him  like  an  affectionate  brother,  and  set 
before  him  the  best  that  the  house  afforded,  he 
showed  him  into  the  best  room,  and  went  himself 
with  him  through  the  fields,  which  were  loaded 
with  a  glorious  harvest.  But  the  more  Matthias 
saw  of  Melchior's  prosperity,  the  greater  grudge 
he  bore  towards  him,  and  the  more  intense  grew 
his  indignation  that  all  this  did  not  belong  to 
him. 

One  day  he  invited  Melchior  to  go   hunting 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  83 

with  him,  and  he  took  him  to  a  lonely  windmill 
on  a  heath,  which  had  no  owner.  Around  it  he 
had  heaped  up  fagots  and  brush-wood,  and  when 
they  came  up  to  it,  he  stood  still  a  minute  and 
then  called  out :  "  Ha !  look  !  you  can  see  your 
farm  from  here." 

«  Where  ?  "  asked  Melchior. 

"  Here,  behind  this  heap  of  bushes  ;  do'nt  you 
see  the  windows  of  the  upper  story  ?  " 

"  I  am  too  short,"  answered  Melchior. 

"  That  is  true,"  answered  Matthias. 

"  What  a  pity  !  I  can  see  Lizzy  in  the  little 
meadow  near  the  garden." 

"  Is  she  alone  ?  " 

"  No,  she  is  talking  with  two  men,  who  are 
talking  very  kindly  to  her." 

"  And  what  is  Lizzy  doing  ?  " 

"  She  is  listening  to  them,  and  plucking  at  her 
apron." 

Melchior  raised  himself  on  tiptoe.  "  Ah,  if  I 
could  only  see  her ! "  he  said. 

*'  That  is  easy  enough,"  replied  Matthias. 
«  Climb  up  on  the  mill,  and  you  will  be  higher 
than  I." 

Melchior  was  pleased  with  this  good  advice, 


84  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

and  climbed  hastily  up  the  ladder.     When  lie 
was  up,  Matthias  asked  him  what  he  saw. 

"  I  see  trees  that  look  no  higher  than  ripe  corn, 
and  houses  that  look  no  bigger  than  snail-shells." 

"  You  must  look  nearer." 

"  Nearer  to  me,  I  see  water  with  boats  on  it, 
that  look  no  larger  than  floating  tubs." 

"  Look  still  nearer,"  said  the  soldier  again. 

"  Still  nearer,  I  see  the  heath,  with  thousands 
of  red  flowers." 

"  Look  close  beside  you  ! " 

"  Close  beneath  me,"  cried  Melchior  enraged. 
"  I  see  flames  that  are  rising  up  high  around  the 
mill,  and  you  have  taken  away  the  ladder !  " 
•  It  was  indeed  so.  Matthias  had  lighted  the 
heaps  of  brush,  and  carried  away  the  ladder. 
The  mill  was  all  on  fire  like  a  baker's  oven,  and 
Matthias  ran  away  with  a  mocking  laugh. 

Luckily  Melchior  remembered   his   wondrous 
couplet,  and  hardly  had  he  called  out, 

"  Help,  dead  beggar-man,  friendly  shade  ! 
Myself  I  cannot  help  or  aid," 

than  the  apparition  came  again  as  at  first,  hold- 
ing a  rainbow  in  his  hand,  on  which  Melchior 
descended  as  if  it  had  been  a  ladder,  unhurt  from 
the  flames  of  the  mill. 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  85 

When  Melchior  entered  his  house,  Matthias 
was  thunderstruck,  and  ran  for  his  horse  and 
weapons  of  defence,  for  he  thought  nothing  else 
than  that  Melchior  was  going  to  give  him  up  to 
justice.  Melchior  saw  him  as  he  was  going  out 
of  the  door,  and  called  to  him. 

,  "  Fear  not,  cousin ;  no  person  in  the  world  shall 
know  what  has  happened  on  the  heath.  Your 
heart  is  diseased  and  filled  with  envy  because 
every  thing  goes  well  with  me,  but  I  will  cure 
you.  From  this  day  forth,  so  long  as  I  live,  half 
of  every  thing  I  possess,  Lizzy  excepted,  shall  be- 
long to  you.  Be  comforted  then,  and  remain 
with  us." 

The  deed  of  gift  was  drawn  up,  signed,  and 
sealed,  and  every  three  months  Matthias  received 
half  the  produce  of  the  whole  estate,  the  fields  as 
well  as  the  stables,  the  hens  as  well  as  the  pig- 
eons. 

Generosity  like  that  of  Melchior  ought  surely 
to  have  satisfied  him,  but  Matthias  grew  more 
dissatisfied  and  envious  than  ever.  Benefits 
which  are  unmerited  are  like  wine  when  one 
drinks  it  without  being  thirsty,  —  they  give  neither 
joy  nor  blessing.  Matthias  no  longer  desired  the 


86  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

death  of  Melchior,  for  then  the  generous  donation 
would  be  taken  from  him  ;  but  he  hated  him  as  a 
caged  wolf  hates  his  keeper. 

What  most  vexed  him  was,  that  his  cousins 
lacked  nothing.  Even  the  only  thing  that  had 
been  wanting  to  their  happiness  was  now  vouch- 
safed to  them,  a  son,  a  most  beautiful  boy. 

Melchior  invited  all  the  gentlefolks  for  five 
miles  round  to  the  child's  baptism.  They  came 
from  all  the  neighboring  towns,  with  their  wives 
and  daughters,  and  the  whole  farm  was  full  of 
horses  and  carriages. 

When  they  wTere  all  assembled,  Melchior 
brought  in  the  little  boy  and  showed  him  to  his 
guests.  The  door  opened,  and  in  came  Matthi- 
as. Lizzy  uttered  a  stifled  cry,  for  his  wicked 
expression  of  face  boded  nothing  good. 

Matthias  went  laughing  up  to  Melchior,  and 
clapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  said,  "  Many 
thanks,  my  dear  cousin,  for  the  new  present  you 
have  made  me." 

"  What  present  ?  "  asked  Melchior  much  puz- 
zled. 

"  Only  your  little  boy  there." 

"  What  do  you  wish  to  do  with  him  ?  " 


THE    STROLLING    BEGGAR.  87 

"  You  surely  have  not  forgotten,"  said  Matthi- 
as, with  a  mocking  laugh,  "  what  is  promised  to 
me  on  this  parchment,  the  half  of  all  the  prop- 
erty, Lizzy  excepted ;  and  surely  this  little  boy  is 
included  in  the  bargain." 

All  present  shrieked  with  horror,  but  Matthias 
remained  unmoved,  and  insisted  that  he  would 
have  his  half  of  the  little  boy. 

Melchior  and  Lizzy  entreated  him  to  spare  the 
child,  but  the  hard-hearted  soldier  persisted  in  his 
claim,  and  seized  his  sword  to  divide  the  little 
creature  in  two. 

In  the  anguish  of  his  heart  Melchior  repeated, 
almost  unconsciously,  the  magical  couplet,  — 

"  Help,  dead  beggar-man,  friendly  shade  ! 
Myself  I  cannot  help  or  aid." 

A  flash  of  lightning  brought  the  soldier  crippled 
to  the  floor.  The  parchment  containing  the  deed 
of  gift  was  burned  up,  and  the  glittering  appari- 
tion of  the  Beggar-rnan  became  visible  in  the  room 
in  all  its  glorious  beauty. 

"  That  is  the  reward  of  your  covetousness,"  he 
cried,  in  a  voice  of  thunder,  to  the  half-dead  Mat- 
thias. "  No  kindness  could  improve  your  black 
heart,  now  adversity  may  do  its  work.  Hence- 


OO  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

forth  you  shall  possess  nothing  more  than  what 
the  compassion  of  honest  hearts  may  confer  upon 
you,  and  that  you  may  do  no  further  harm,  your 
hands  shall  remain  crippled  and  powerless  to  the 
end." 

"  You,  good  people,"  turning  to  Melchior  and 
Lizzy,  "  are  now  free  from  every  engagement,  and 
you  will  have  no  further  need  of  me.  Live  hap- 
pily and  in  peace !  " 

The  apparition  vanished,  but  Matthias  remain- 
ed lame  and  feeble,  dependent  upon  the  bounty 
of  his  cousins,  till  he  died  a  miserable  death,  be- 
cause his  envious  spirit  embittered  every  favor 
which  their  kind  hearts  bestowed  upon  him. 

But  Melchior  and  Lizzy  lived  in  happiness  and 
peace  many,  many  years. 


THE    WALKING    STONES. 


AWAY  on  the  moor-side  lies  a  poor,  obscure 
little  village.  All  around,  the  whole  surface  of  the 
ground  is  nothing  but  a  dry,  barren  waste,  with 
no  trees  except  an  occasional  clump  of  pines,  and 
throughout  the  whole  town  there  is  not  enough 
grass  growing  to  pasture  a  pair  of  oxen,  nor  oats 
enough  to  fatten  a  pig. 

But  if  the  inhabitants  have  no  corn  or  cattle, 
they  have  no  lack  of  stones  :  for  there  are  flint- 
stones  enough  lying  about,  to  build  a  dozen  cit- 
ies, and  yet  leave  enough  to  build  a  dozen  vil- 
lages beside,  and  on  one  side  of  the  village  there 
is  a  wide  heath,  where  the  dwarfs,  or  somebody 
else,  have  planted  long,  long  rows  of  blocks  of 
stone,  close  together,  so  that  it  looks  like  a  street. 

Between  the  little  village  and  the  moor,  there 


90  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

lived  a  man  who  passed  for  rich  ;  that  is,  he  could 
every  year  slaughter  a  small  hog  for  the  family 
use,  every  Michaelmas  he  could  buy  a  pair  of 
wooden  shoes  for  the  winter,  and  he  always  had 
as  much  black  bread  as  he  wanted. 

He  was  also  considered  the  proudest  man  in 
the  whole  country,  for  he  had  refused  his  sister 
Rosa  to  all  the  young  men  in  the  place  who  lived 
by  the  labor  of  their  hands.  Among  these,  there 
was  one  young  man  by  the  name  of  Berend. 

Berend  had  known  Rosa  from  a  little  child, 
and  had  often  played  "  Catch  "  with  her,  repeat- 
ing as  he  did  so,  "  I  throw  my  kerchief  here  and 
there  " ;  and  the  older  they  grew,  the  closer  became 
their  friendship,  till'  at  last  Berend  thought  he 
could  not  live  without  Rosa. 

You  may  well  think,  then,  that  Martin's  de- 
cided refusal  went  to  his  very  heart.  Luckily, 
Rosa  paid  little  heed  to  her  proud  brother,  but 
continued  to  be  kind  and  friendly  to  Berend,  and 
often  when  he  passed  by  the  house,  she  would 
smile  pleasantly  and  begin  to  sing,  "  I  throw  my 
kerchief  here  and  there  "  ;  and  then  Berend  would 
be  reminded  of  the  pleasant  days  of  their  child- 
hood, and  he  would  join  in  with 


THE    WALKING    STONES.  91 

"  I  know  not  to  whom  I  shall  give  it, 
I  '11  give  it  to  my  dearest," 

and  then  his  heart  grew  so  light,  that  he  no  longer 
felt  sad  or  discouraged. 

At  length  New-year's  time  came.  The  weath- 
er was  so  cold,  and  the  snow  so  deep,  that  it  was 
not  possible  to  go  across  the  moor  to  the  next 
village,  where  there  was  a  band  of  music,  and  the 
young  people  were  playing  and  dancing,  but  as 
Martin  was  a  rich  man,  he  thought  he  would 
have  a  little  entertainment  on  Sylvester-day,* 
which  occurs  about  this  time ;  so  he  assembled 
all  his  relations,  and  invited  several  jovial  young 
fellows  besides,  among  whom  was  our  friend 
Berend.  , 

The  master  of  the  house  prided  himself  in  pro- 
viding a  liberal  entertainment  for  his  guests,  and 
he  had  a  plenty  of  oat-meal  pudding  with  honey 
for  sauce.  "While  this  delicious  dish  was  prepar- 
ing, all  eyes  were  turned  to  the  hearth,  in  eager 
expectation ;  Berend  alone  gazed  on  his  beloved 
Rosa.  At  last  the  desired  moment  came,  when 
the  benches  were  drawn  up  to  the  table,  the  plates 
were  set  on,  and  the  spoons  were  stuck  like  a 

*  Dec.  31,  Old  Style. 


92  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

wreath  all  around  the  dish  of  hasty-pudding. 
But  just  as  the  guests  were  about  to  fall  to,  the 
door  was  forcibly  pushed  open,  and  an  aged  man 
entered,  who  wished  them  a  blessed  meal. 

This  man  was  a  travelling  beggar,  who  be- 
longed to  no  particular  place,  and  who  inspired 
all  the  people  with  terror.  A  great  many  stories 
were  told  about  him ;  he  was  said  to  have  an  evil 
eye,  so  that  the  cattle  fell  sick  when  he  looked 
upon  them ;  he  could  blast  the  corn  in  the  ear, 
and  he  sold  simple  people  salve  for  cuts  and 
bruises.  Indeed,  many  people  affirmed  that  he 
had  it  in  his  power  to  change  himself  into  a 
Wehr-wolf* 

But  as  he  appeared  to  be  a  poor,  needy  beg- 
gar, Martin  permitted  him  to  sit  down  by  the 
fire,  and  warm  himself.  He  handed  him  a  three- 
legged  stool,  and  out  of  compassion  gave  him  a 
dish  from  the  table.  The  sorcerer  ate,  warmed 
himself,  and  then  asked  for  a  night's  lodging. 
Martin  opened  the  barn,  there  stood  in  the  stall 

*  Those  wolves  that  had- tasted  human  flesh  were  called  Wehr- 
or  Were-wolves  by  the  Saxons,  who  held  them  in  peculiar  dread,  on 
account  of  their  having  acquired  additional  ferocity  from  that  cir- 
cumstance. —  Miss  Strickland. 


THE    WALKING    STONES.  93 

an  old  gray  ass  and  a  meagre  heifer.  The  beg- 
gar laid  himself  down  between  the  two  beasts  to 
keep  himself  from  freezing,  and  stuck  a  bundle 
of  heath  under  his  head.  Just  as  he  was  begin- 
ning to  grow  sleepy,  the  clock  struck  midnight. 

Then  the  old  gray  ass  shook  his  long  ears,  and 
turned  to  the  meagre  heifer.  "  Now,  coz,"  he  be- 
gan, "how  have  you  been  since  last  Sylvester- 
night,  when  we  last  saw  each  other  ?  " 

The  meagre  heifer  made  no  answer,  but  shook 

X 

her  head,  and  cast  a  contemptuous  glance  on  the 
beggar. 

When  the  ass  repeated  his  question  again,  the 
meagre  heifer  said,  in  a  droll  tone,  "  There 's  great 
pleasure  in  talking,  when  the  only  hour  in  which 
we  can  speak  for  the  whole  year  is  embittered 
by  the  presence  of  this  miserable,  beggar." 

"  Fie !  how  proud  you  have  grown !  The  dress 
makes  no  one  better  than  he  is  ;  I  think  myself 
that  my  hide  is  getting  rather  speckled  with 
years,  and  for  that  reason  I  despise  nobody.  It 
is  very  true  that  this  beggar  is  a  good-for-nothing 
fellow,  and  a  wicked  magician ;  but  you  see  he  is 
asleep,  and  cannot  hear  us." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  meagre  heifer,   "  all  his 


94  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

magic  arts  have  not  availed  to  make  him  rich. 
He  toils  and  toils,  but  luck  slips  through  his  fin- 
gers. I  could  succeed  better  if  I  could  only  make 
use  of  the  means,  and  in  a  few  days  there  will  be 
a  fine  opportunity,  and  close  by  here  too." 

"  How  so  ?  "  asked  the  gray  ass. 

"  What !  Is  it  possible  that  you  do  not  know 
that  once  in  every  hundred  years  the  stones  on 
the  moor  go  down  to  the  sea-side  to  drink,  and 
while  they  are  gone,  all  the  treasures  of  the  earth 
lie  open  and  exposed,  so  that  you  have  nothing 
to  do  but  to  reach  out  and  get  what  you  want  ?  " 

"  Ah !  now  I  remember,"  said  the  gray  ass, 
"  that  this  takes  place  on  Three-Kings'-night."  * 

"  Well,  this  is  the  year  that  it  falls  upon." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  gray  ass,  "  but  there  is, 
nevertheless,  a  difficulty  in  the  matter.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  stqnes  come  back  again,  to  take  their 
old  places  for  the  next  hundred  years  to  pome, 
and  then  those  that  they  do  not  crush  will  have 
time  enough  to  starve." 

"  Bah  !  "  replied  the  meagre  heifer ;  "  one  only 
needs  to  take  a  five-leaved  clover  with  him,  and 

*  6th  of  January,  Old  Style. 


THE    WALKING    STONES.  95 

they  will  do  him  no  harm,  and  he  can  walk  un 
disturbed  through  the  midst  of  them." 

"  Well,  then,  there 's  another  thing,"  continued 
the  gray  ass ;  "  if  one  succeeds  in  bringing  up  the 
treasures,  they  soon  change  into  dust  and  ashes." 

"  Who  would  be  so  stupid,"  replied  the  mea- 
gre heifer,  "  as  not  to  put  them  into  a  chest,  and 
lay  a  bit  of  witch-hazel  on  the  top.  If  they  are 
left  thus  until  mid-day,  they  will  remain  just  as 
they  are,  and  whoever  has  them  is  richer  than  the 
whole  village." 

"  Aha ! "  thought  the  beggar,  who  had  not 
gone  to  sleep,  but  had  only  kept  his  eyes  shut, 
while  he  was  listening  to  this  conversation  be- 
tween the  ass  and  the  heifer,  —  "  Aha !  my  dear 
creatures,"  thought  he,  "  many  thanks  to  you ! 
You  make  me  richer  than  the  proud  Martin,  and 
for  the  future  I'll  have  no  more  to  do  with  mag- 
ic, which  amounts  to  nothing." 

He  went  to  sleep,  and  at  daybreak  the  next 
morning  he  went  over  the  heath.  There  he  found 
Berend  breaking  stones  with  a  hammer. 

"  Holla !  my  friend,"  said  the  magician,  "  are 
you  going  to  build  yourself  a  cabin  out  of  these 
stones  ?  " 


96  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Not  that,"  answered  Berend,  "  but  I  was 
cold,  and  I  thought  I  could  not  do  better  than  to 
collect  some  good  stones  to  improve  the  road.  I 
think  I  deserve  Martin's  thanks  for  that,  for  he 
always  has  the  worst  road." 

"  Do  you  care  so  much  for  Martin's  favor  ?  " 

"  I  like  to  be  friends  with  every  body,"  said 
Berend,  looking  at  the  beggar  with  a  surprised 
air. 

The  beggar  laughed  aloud. 

"  And  have  not  you  really  thought  any  thing 
ahout  Rosa  in  this  matter  ?  " 

Berend  did  not  know  what  to  say.  "  Ah ! "  he 
said  at  last,  "  you  know  every  thing,  but  I  need 
not  be  ashamed ;  the  maiden  is  so  handsome  and 
so  good !  Ah !  if  I  only  were  not  so  poor ! " 

"  If  that  is  all,"  said  the  beggar,  laughing,  "  1 
can  help  you.  What  should  you  think,"  said  he 
softly,  "  if  I  should  give  you  a  purse  full  of  bright 
dollars?" 

"  You  ?  "  cried  Berend. 

"  Yes,  I." 

"  And  what  do  you  want  in  return  ?  " 

"  Nothing  at  all,  only  that  you  have  a  bit  of 
courage." 


THE    AVALKING     STONES.  97 

"  If  that 's  all,"  said  Berend,  "  I  have  courage 
enough  to  go  through  fire  and  water." 

When  the  beggar  found  Berend  so  friendly 
disposed,  he  went  on  to  tell  him  what  would 
take  place  on  Three*-Kings'-night.  But  he  said 
nothing  at  all  of  what  was  necessary  to  be  done 
to  avoid  being  crushed  to  pieces  by  the  returning 
stones,  because  he  wished  to  destroy  him  and 
marry  the  pretty  Rosa  himself. 

So  he  told  Berend  -to  go  to  the  moor  on  Three- 
Kings'-night,  and  there  he,  the  beggar,  would 
meet  him.  Berend  kept  his  appointment.  A 
full  hour  before  midnight  he  was  on  the  moor, 
and  there  he  found  the  beggar  seated  with 
two  sacks  in  his  hands,  and  a  third  about  his 
neck. 

"  Sit  down  a  little  while,"  said  the  beggar-man, 
"and  think  over,  while  you  are  waiting,  what 
you  shall  do  when  you  hoist  up  gold  and  silver 
in  .the  greatest  abundance." 

Berend  sat  do\vn  on  the  ground,  and  said, 
"  When  I  have  silver  enough  I  will  marry  my 
dear  Rosa,  and  give  her  every  thing  her  heart  can 
wish." 

•  "  And  what  will  you  do  with  the  gold  ?  " 
7 


98  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  When  I  have  gold  enough,  I  will  enrich  all 
Rosa's  relatives,  and  my  own  too." 

"  But  you  will  obtain  precious  stones,  too, 
which  are  more  valuable  than  gold  and  silver; 
what  shall  you  do  with  them  ?  " 

"  Ah ! "  exclaimed  Berend,  and  he  sprang  up 
for  joy  ;  "  then  no  human  being  shall  ever  suffer 
before  my  eyes ;  I  will  help  all  the  poor,  and  con- 
sole the  sick  and  feeble  in  their  sufferings." 

The  clock  now  struck  twelve.  Suddenly  a 
tremendous  roaring  sound,  like  that  of  an  earth- 
quake, was  heard  on  the  moor,  and  by  the  glim- 
mer of  the  stars  they  could  see  that  the  stone 
blocks  had  lifted  themselves  out  of  their  places, 
and  had  begun  their  journey  to  the  sea.  They 
looked  like  an  army  of  giants  who  were  all 
drunken,  they  staggered  so  from  one  side  to  the 
other.  They  passed  by  Berend  and  the  beggar, 
and  vanished  in  the  darkness. 

"  Come !  come ! "  cried  the  beggar,  "  and  fill 
your  pockets  full." 

Berend  ran  with  the  sorcerer  to  the  place 
where  the  stone  blocks  used  to  stand.  O  mar- 
vellous! Instead  of  the  stones,  there  were  now 
wide  openings  like  huge  chests,  and  everywhere 


THE    WALKING    STONES.  99 

lay  in  the  greatest  profusion,  gold,  silver,  and 
precious  stones. 

Then,  what  a  scramble!  The  sorcerer  could 
not  snatch  enough,  and  Berend,  whose  pockets 
were  soon  filled,  must  now  help  him  to  fill  the 
three  sacks.  They  had  just  thrown  the  last 
handful  into  the  last  sack,  and  the  sorcerer  was 
shaking  the  bag  to  make  the  treasure  settle 
down  so  as  not  to  get  out  of  the  sack  again, 
when  a  deep  roar  was  heard  in  the  distance. 
The  stones  had  drunken,  and  they  were  now 
coming  back  from  all  sides  to  resume  their  old 
places  again.  Berend  was  the  first  to  hear  it. 

"  O  Heaven !  we  are  lost,"  he  cried ;  "  there  are 
the  stones  coming  back ! " 

"  What  do  I  care  about  that  ?  "  said  the  sor- 
cerer. "  You  ought  to  have  looked  out  better  for 
yourself,  and  have  brought  a  clover-leaf  with 
you.  Look!  the  five-leaved  clover  opens  the 
way  for  me." 

Berend  gave  himself  up  for  lost.  He  would 
have  tried  to  run  away,  but  the  sorcerer  insisted 
upon  his  helping  him  drag  up  the  last  sack  out 
of  the  deep  hole.  He  had  already  reached  the 
edge  of  the  cavity,  when  the  stone  that  belonged 


100  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

there  made  its  appearance,  and  threw  poor  Be- 
rend  back  again  into  the  hole. 

But  at  that  very  moment  Berend  heard  the 
voice  of  the  sorcerer,  "  My  clover-leaf!  my  clover- 
leaf!" 

In  his  struggle  with  the  last  sack,  the  clover- 
leaf  had  fallen  from  his  hand,  and  behold!  a 
draught  of  wind  blew  it  towards  Berend  just  as 
he  was  falling  back  into  the  hole.  He  quickly 
stretched  out  his  hand,  and  luckily  reached  it 
just  before  the  stone  sunk  down  upon  him  and 
shut  him  up  for  a  hundred  years.  Then  the 
block  of  stone  stopped  and  waited  till  Berend 
had  climbed  up  out  of  the  hole,  and  ah1  the 
stones  that  met  him  stood  aside  and  let  him 
pass. 

The  sorcerer  was  caught  in  his  own  trap ;  the 
walking-stones  strode  unmercifully  over  him,  and 
crushed  him  to  pieces. 

Berend  went  home,  and  hid  his  gold,  silver, 
and  precious  stones  in  his  chest.  He  knew 
nothing  about  what  was  to  be  done  to  prevent 
the  whole  treasure  from  turning  to  dust,  but 
luckily  he  had  all  his  life  taken  great  pleasure  in 
carving,  and  in  the  lid  of  his  chest  he  had  a  great 


THE     WALKING    STONES.  101 

many  carved  images  filled  in  with  hazel-wood. 
So  his  treasure  remained  to  him. 

A  few  hours  afterwards,  he  went  again  to  the 
moor.  The  stones  all  stood  again  in  order; 
there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  of  the  sorcerer  but 
blood-tracks  on  a  stone,  beside  which  the  three 
full  sacks  stood  untouched.  You  may  well  sup- 
pose that  he  quickly  seized  upon  them  and  car- 
ried them  home. 

"  Now,"  thought  he,  "  I  am  richer  than  any 
other  man,  and  I  will  just  let  Martin  feel  my 
superiority  a  little." 

While  he  was  considering  what  he  had  better 
do  first,  it  was  noon  ;  and  the  sun  had  no  sooner 
turned,  than  the  three  sacks,  with  their  count- 
less treasures,  vanished  all  at  once,  changing  into 
dust  and  ashes  before  his  eyes. 

Terrified,  he  ran  to  his  chest;  —  he  might 
thank  his  good  luck  that  this  was  not  empty 
also. 

As  it  usually  happens  when  any  misfortune 
befalls  us,  we  are  ready  to  attribute  it  to  this  or 
to  that,  so  Berend  thought  this  had  happened  to 
him  as  a  punishment  for  the  pride  which  had 
crept  over  him  in  view  of  his  riches. 


102  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

This  was  not  a  bad  idea,  however,  for  it 
brought  him  to  himself,  and  he  became  as  un- 
assuming and  kind-hearted  as  before,  although 
he  was  richer  than  the  whole  village,  and  Martin 
into  the  bargain. 

Of  course  Martin  no  longer  refused  to  give 
him  his  sister.  He  gave  to  the  poor  Berend,  who 
from  this  time  was  called  Berend  the  Rich,  his 
sister  Rosa  to  wife,  and  he  hoped  himself  to  de- 
rive much  profit  from  this  rich  connection. 

But  therein  he  deceived  himself.  Berend  was 
not  avaricious,  but  he  only  gave  to  those  that 
needed  it.  He  built  a  pretty  house  for  himself, 
bought  lands  and  cattle,  and  with  what  he  had 
left,  he  established  a  comfortable  home  for  the 
aged  and  feeble. 

So  he  lived  with  Rosa  in  happiness  and  peace ; 
but  this  was  much  more  attributable  to  his  good 
heart  and  honest  soul  than  to  the  treasure,  be- 
cause the  happiness  of  man  comes  from  within, 
out  of  his  own  breast,  and  not  from  gold  and 
wealth  alone. 

And  though  every  one  may  not  have  the  good 
luck  to  be  on  the  spot  when  the  stones  walk 
down  to  drink,  and  disclose  all  the  treasures  of 


THE    WALKING    STONES.  103 

the  earth,  each  one  can  nevertheless  take  care 
that  no  remorse  crush  his  conscience  like  a  heavy 
stone ;  and  all  else  may  be  accomplished  by  un- 
tiring diligence,  with  which  there  will  be  no  lack 
of  success  and  prosperity. 


THE    WATER-WITCH. 


A  LONG,  long  time  ago  there  lived  a  young 
peasant  called  William,  and  a  pretty  young 
maiden  who  was  named  Bella.  They  loved 
each  other  dearly,  and  they  would  gladly  have 
married ;  but  they  were  poor,  and  were  forced  to 
go  out  to  service  for  a  living. 

One  day  William  said  to  Bella,  "  I  have 
driven  the  cows  into  the  village  for  the  last  time. 
I  cannot  succeed  here,  so  to-morrow  morning  I 
go  into  the  wide  world,  to  see  if  I  can  meet  with 
luck  anywhere." 

Bella  wept,  but  William  was  not  to  be  turned 
from  his  purpose.  He  consoled  his  betrothed  as 
well  as  he  could,  and  promised  to  return  soon. 

"  Now,  then,"  said  Bella,  "  since  it  must  be  so, 
go  in  God's  name.  But  first  we  will  share  with 


THE    WATKI>  \YITCH.  10<3 

each  other  three  valuables  which  my  father  left 
behind  him  at  his  death." 

She  went  to  a  closet,  and  brought  out  a  little 
bell,  a  knife,  and  a  staff. 

"  These  three  things  have  never  been  out  of 
our  family,"  said  she.  "  This  little  bell  has  the 
gift  of  notifying  by  its  clear  ring  the  friends  of 
the  possessor,  whenever  he  is  in  danger.  The 
knife  has  the  power  of  freeing  from  enchantment 
whatever  it  touches,  and  the  staff  guides  one 
wherever  he  wishes  to  go.  I  will  give  you  the 
little  bell  and  the  knife,  and  the  staff  I  will  keep 
myself." 

William  thanked  her,  and  bade  her  farewell. 
Bella  looked  after  him  with  tearful  eyes,  till  he 
disappeared  behind  the  mountains. 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  William  came  to 
a  town  in  the  vicinity  of  a  lake.  He  sat  down 
before  the  door  of  an  inn,  and  he  overheard  two 
ass-drivers  talking  about  the  Water-witch  on  the 
island  in  the  lake.  William  inquired  who  she 
was,  and  he  was  told  that  she  was  a  fairy  who 
lived  on  the  island  in  the  lake  near  by,  and  she 
was  richer  than  all  the  kings  together.  Many 
people  had  gone  thither  to  get  possession  of  her 
treasure,  but  not  one  had  ever  returned. 


106  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

William  could  not  get  this  story  out  of  his 
head,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  to  go  to  the 
Water-witch  and  see  if  he  could  not  get  enough 
from  her  just  to  buy  a  cow  and  a  poor  little  pig. 

When  the  ass-drivers  heard  this,  they  cried  out 
with  horror,  and  they  tried  to  keep  him  back. 
But  William  was  a  little  self-willed ;  he  set  off 
to  the  lake,  and  there  he  met  a  ferryman  who 
took  him  over  to  the  island. 

In  the  centre  of  the  island  there -was  a  large 
pond,  wholly  covered  with  water-lilies  in  full 
flower.  In  this  pond  lived  the  Water-witch. 
William  walked  around  the  pond,  and  discov- 
ered in  the  rushes  a  boat  in  the  shape  of  a  sleep- 
ing swan  with  its  head  under  its  wing. 

This  William  thought  very  remarkable ;  he 
had  never  seen  any  thing  like  it  before,  and  he 
climbed  into  the  boat  in  order  to  examine  it 
more  thoroughly.  But  his  feet  had  no  sooner 
touched  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  than  the  swan 
seemed  to  awake,  raised  its  head  from  beneath 
its  wings,  and,  rowing  with  its  broad  webbed 
feet,  swam  swiftly  away  from  the  shore. 

William  uttered  a  cry  of  horror,  but  the  swan 
still  swam  on  and  on,  till  the  young  man  sprang 


THE    WATER-WITCH.  107 

into  the  water  to  make  his  escape ;  but  the  swan 
dipped  under,  caught  him  up  again,  and  drew 
him  down  with  her  to  the  bottom  of  the  pond. 
William  was  obliged  to  hold  his  peace,  to  keep 
from  swallowing  more  water  than  was  agreeable. 

In  this  manner  he  was  brought  to  the  dwelling 
of  the  "Water-witch.  This  was  a  palace  of  rare 
beauty,  built  entirely  of  muscle-shells.  A  crystal 
staircase  led  to  it,  every  step  of  which  gave  out 
a  musical  tone  as  soon  as  a  foot  touched  it. 
The  palace  was  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  wide- 
spreading  gardens,  containing  forests  of  marine- 
plants,  and  meadows  of  sea-weed,  where,  in 
place  of  flowers,  glittered  the  purest  diamonds. 

The  Water-witch  was  reclining  in  the  first 
apartment  of  the  palace  on  a  golden  sofa.  She 
was  dressed  in  sea-green  silk,  her  long  black  hair, 
intertwined  with  coral,  reached  down  to  her  feet, 
and  her  face  was  of  that  delicate  red  and  white 
which  distinguishes  the  inner  surface  of  the 
muscle-shell. 

The  young  man,  dazzled  by  her  beauty,  stood 
as  if  entranced,  but  the  Water-witch  rose  from 
her  couch,  and  kindly  inquired  who  he  was,  and 
bade  him  welcome. 


108  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

She  conducted  him  into  a  second  apartment, 
which  was  built  entirely  of  pearl,  and  she  placed 
before  him  eight  golden  beakers,  with  eight  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  wine. 

William  drank  ;  he  had  never  tasted  any  thing 
so  delicious,  and  he  was  perfectly  charmed  with 
the  fascinating  Water-witch.  Then  she  showed 
him  her  countless  treasures,  and  told  him  that  all 
the  precious  things  that  fell  into  the  sea  she  man- 
aged to  get  into  her  possession  by  means  of  her 
magical  arts. 

William  was  astonished ;  the  wine  had  made 
him  feel  very  happy,  and  he  said:  "Well,  one 
who  is  so  very  rich  is  much  to  be  envied.  If  I 
only  had  a  thousandth  part  of  these  great  riches 
I  should  be  content." 

"  Half  of  them  shall  be  yours  if  you  wish," 
said  the  Water- witch.  "Remain  with  me;  I 
will  be  your  wife,  and  then  you  can  be  master  of 
every  thing  you  desire." 

The  eight  different  kinds  of  wine  were  whirl- 
ing in  William's  head ;  he  forgot  his  promise  to 
Bella,  and  accepted  the  proposal  of  the  Water- 
witch  without  the  least  hesitation. 

The  Water-witch  immediately  commenced  pre- 


THE    WATER-WITCH.  109 

paring  a  delicious  repast.  She  betook  herself  to 
a  fish-tank  in  the  garden,  and  called  out,  "  Holla! 
the  Miller!"  "Holla!  the  Tailor!"  "Holla!  the 
Clerk !  "  and  so  on ;  and  at  each  cry  a  little  fish 
came  swimming  towards  her,  which  she  caught 
in  a  steel  net  until  her  net  was  full. 

Then  she  went  into  a  room  adjoining  the 
eating-room,  put  the  fish  into  a  golden  pan,  and 
began  to  fry  them. 

It  seemed  to  William  as  if  he  heard  the  fish 
sob  while  they  were  frying.  "  What  is  that  sigh- 
ing in  the  golden  pan  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  It  is  the  wood  singing,"  said  the  Water- 
witch. 

After  a  while,  little  voices  began  to  whisper. 
"  What  is  that  whispering  there?"  he  asked. 

"  The  fat  hissing  in  the  pan,"  she  answered. 

But  now  the  little  voices  cried  out  audibly 
and  loud.  ".What  is  that  cry?"  said  William. 

"  Those  are  the  crickets  in  the  hearth,"  said 
the  Water-witch,  and  she  immediately  began  to 
sing  so  loud  that  he  could  hear  nothing  more. 

Still,  what  he  had  heard  inspired  him  some- 
how with  terror,  and  as  he  began  to  fear  for  him- 
self, he  began  also  to  reproach  himself  for  his  fri- 


110  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

volity,  and  he  thought  of  his  dear  Bella.  But  the 
Water-witch  brought  him  the  fried  fish,  begged 
him  to  eat,  and  went  to  fetch  twelve  different 
kinds  of  wine. 

William  drew  his  knife  out  of  his  pocket  and 
was  about  to  commence  operations ;  but  hardly 
had  he  touched  the  golden  dish  with  the  knife 
which  Bella  had  given  him,  than  the  spell  of  en- 
chantment was  broken,  the  fishes  rose  up  and 
became  little  men.  One  was  a  miller  with  a 
meal-gray  coat,  the  other  a  tailor  with  blue  hose, 
the  other  a  chapel  clerk  with  long,  flowing  robes, 
and  all  cried  out  together,  "  William,  save  us,  if 
you  would  be  saved  yourself ! " 

William  was  astounded.  "  Pray  who  are 
these  little  people  ?  "  he  cried  out. 

"  We  are  men  like  yourself,"  they  answered. 
"  We  came  here  to  get  rich  ;  but  the  day  after  our 
marriage  to  the  Water-witch  she  changed  us 
into  fishes,  and  threw  us  into  the  great  fish-tank." 

"  Alas ! "  cried  William,  struck  aghast,  "  has 
the  Water-witch  had  so  many  husbands  already  ? 
and  now  are  they  all  fishes  ?  " 

"  You  also  soon  will  be  a  fish  yourself,  and 
will  be  eaten  up  by  the  first  new-comer,"  said 
the  little  creatures. 


THE    WATER-WITCH.  Ill 

William  gave  a  spring,  he  seemed  to  feel  him- 
self already  frying  in  the  golden  pan,  and  he  was 
fain  to  make  his  escape  before  the  Water-witch 
returned.  But  she  met  him  at  the  door ;  she  had 
heard  all ;  she  touched  him  with  her  wire-net,  and 
changed  him  into  a  frog,  and  threw  him  into  the 
tank.  At  this  moment,  the  little  bell  which  he 
wore  on  his  neck  sounded,  and  Bella  heard  the 
sound,  though  she  was  far,  far  away.  It  went  to 
her  very  heart.  She  uttered  a  cry  of  anguish  and 
said,  "  William  is  in  danger ! " 

Without   a  moment's  consideration,  or  stop- 
ping to  inquire  of  any  one,  she  put  on  her  shoes 
and  her  Sunday  suit,  hung  her  little  silver  cross 
around  her  neck,  and  staff  in  hand  she  left  the 
house.     She  went  to  a  cross-way,  and  there  she 
stuck  the  staff  in  the  ground,  and  said :  — 
"Little  staff,  little  staff,  hear  me ! 
Little  staff,  little  staff,  bear  me 
Over  stone  and  stump, 
Over  copse  and  clump, 
Over  the  river,  and  over  the  sea, 
Far  away  through  the  air,  little  staff,  carry  me  ! " 

Then  the  staff  instantly  changed  into  a  saddle- 
horse,  all  nicely  groomed,  saddled,  and  bridled, 
with  a  blue  plume  on  its  forehead,  and  a  flutter- 
ing ribbon  behind  each  ear. 


112  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Bella  mounted  the  horse  without  delay,  and  it 
started  first  on  a  walk,  then  a  trot^  and  then  a 
gallop,  and  at  last  it  went  so  swiftly  that  ditches, 
trees,  houses,  and  towers  flew;  by  her  like  the  arms 
of  a  windmill.  But  still  it  did  not  go  fast 
enough  for  Bella;  she  urged  him  on,  saying:  — 

"  The  swallow  is  swifter  than  the  horse,  the 
wind  is  swifter  than  the  swallow,  the  lightning 
is  swifter  than  the  wind,  but  my  little  horse,  if 
you  love  me,  fly  swifter  than  them  all ! " 

When  the  horse  heard  this,  he  flew  as  swift  as 
a  thought,  and  in  a  moment  he  was  at  the  foot 
of  a  high  rock,  called  the  Deer's  Leap,  which  was 
so  steep  and  high  he  could  not  get  over  it. 

Bella  knew  very  well  what  to  do,  and  she  im- 
mediately began  to  cry :  — 

"  Little  horse,  little  horse,  hear  me  ! 
Little  horse,  little  horse,  bear  me 

Over  stone  and  stump,  \>  • 

Over  copse  and  clump, 
Over  the  river,  and  over  the  sea, 
Far  away  through  the  air,  little  horse,  carry  me  !" 

She  had  hardly  pronounced  the  words,  when 
huge  wings  came  out  of  the  horse's  sides,  and  it 
changed  into  an  eagle,  which  brought  Bella  up 
to  the  top  of  the  rocks.  There  he  stopped,  and 


THK    WATER-WITCH.  113 

Bella  espied  a  great  nest  in  which  sat  a  little 
black,  crippled  dwarf.  The  dwarf  uttered  a  loud 
cry  when  he  saw  Bella.  "Dear  maiden,"  he 
cried,  "  save  me,  save  me  ! " 

"  Save  you  ?  "  cried  Bella ;  "  who  are  you,  pray, 
my  dear  little  man  ?  " 

"  I  am  the  husband  of  the  Water-witch,  who 
has  enchanted  me  here,  because  I  could  not  en- 
dure her  witchcraft ;  and  now  I  am  condemned 
to  sit  here  till  somebody  frees  me,  or  till  I  have 
hatched  out  these  stone  eggs." 

Bella  began  to  laugh  aloud.  "  Ah,  my  little 
setting  hen,  how  can  I  set  you  free  ?  " 

"  If  you  rescue  William,  who  is  in  the  power 
of  the  Water- witch " 

Bella  did  not  wait  to  hear  that  a  second  time. 
"  Quick,  what  must  I  do  ?  "  she  said. 

"  There  are  two  things  that  must  be  done,"  re- 
plied the  dwarf.  "  You  must  dress  yourself  like 
a  man,  so  that  the.  Water-witch  may  not  recog- 
nize you,  and  then  you  must  snatch  away  the 
wire-net  which  she  wears  at  her  girdle,  and  im- 
prison her  in  it  for  ever." 

"  But  I  have  no  men's  clothes,"  said  Bella. 

"  We  '11  soon  help  you  to  them,"  answered  the 
8 


114  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

little  man,  and  he  tore  out  four  of  his  red  hairs. 
He  murmured  softly  a  few  words,  and  blew  the 
hairs  into  the  air ;  they  instantly  turned  into  four 
tailors,  one  of  whom  bore  a  cabbage-head,  the 
second  a  pair  of  shears,  the  third  a  needle,  and 
the  fourth  a  tailor's  goose.  They  quickly  seated 
themselves  around  the  nest,  crossed  their  legs, 
and  began  to  make  an  entire  man's  suit  for  Bella. 

Out  of  the  first  cabbage-leaf  they  made  a  beau- 
tiful coat,  out  of  the  second  a  long  vest,  two  oth- 
ers gave  the  flowing  trousers,  the  heart  served  for 
a  hat,  and  the  stump  for  shoes. 

Bella  looked  in  her  new  dress  like  a  nobleman. 

She  received  a  few  more  directions  from  the 
little  man,  mounted  her  eagle,  and  betook  her- 
self to  the  island  of  the  Water-witch.  Here  she 
changed  the  eagle  into  a  walking-staff,  and  suf- 
fered herself  to  be  brought  by  the  swan  to  the 
dwelling  of  the  Water-witch. 

The  Water- witch  did  not  recognize  Bella,  and 
at  the  sight  of  the  young  man  in  silk  and  satin, 
she  was  greatly  delighted.  She  brought  Bella 
into  the  pearl  room  and  served  her  with  wine. 
Bella  found  William's  knife  on  the  table,  and  she 
stuck  it  into  her  girdle.  Then  she  went  with  the 


THE    WATER-WITCH.  115 

Water-witch  to  walk  in  the  garden,  and  they 
both  stood  beside  the  fish-tank.  Bella  leaned 
over  the  little  fishes,  wholly  beside  herself  with 
delight,  and  when  the  Water-witch  invited  her  to 
remain  with  her,  she  said,  "  Yes,  if  you  will  per- 
mit me  to  fish  a  little  in  the  tank." 

The  Water-witch  suspected  no  harm,  she  gave 
her  the  net  which  hung  from  her  girdle,  and  said, 
laughing,  "  Now  let 's  see  what  you  will  catch." 

Bella  threw  the  net  over  the  Water-witch  with 
a  cry  of  joy.  "  Infamous  witch,  become  in  ap- 
pearance what  you  are  in  heart ! " 

The  Water-witch  shrieked,  but  she  was  soon 
silenced,  for  in  a  few  minutes  she  was  changed 
into  an  odious  mushroom.  Bella  drew  the  net 
close  together  over  the  mushroom  and  threw  it 
into  a  deep  well,  which  she  filled  up  with  heavy 
stones.  Then  she  hastened  back  to  the  fish-tank. 

But  the  fishes  had  already  come  up  out  of  the 
water,  and  in  a  long  procession  were  wriggling 
along  in  an  upright  position  towards  Bella,  cry- 
ing out,  "  That  is  the  nobleman  who  has  rescued 
us  from  the  steel  net  and  the  golden  frying-pan." 

Bella  took  the  knife  in  her  hand.  She  had  ob- 
served close  at  her  feet  a  frog  who  wore  a  little 


116  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

bell  around  his  neck,  sighed  heavily,  and  pressed 
his  two  front  claws  upon  his  heart.  She  touched 
him  with  the  knife ;  the  frog  turned  into  a  man, 
who  was  no  one  else  than  William.  Then  she 
touched  the  fishes,  and  they  immediately  changed 
back  to  what  they  were  before. 

When  she  had  done  all  this,  the  little  man  from 
the  Deer's  Leap  made  his  appearance  ;  he  sat  in 
his  nest  as  in  a  carriage,  and  the  six  stone  eggs 
had  been  changed  into  as  many  beetles,  and  were 
drawing  the  carriage/'  •' 

He  thanked  Bella  a  thousand  times,  and  led 
her  and  William  to  the  treasure-chamber,  which 
was  entirely  filled  with  gold  and  precious  stones. 
Both  filled  pockets,  hats,  and  handkerchiefs  brim- 
ful ;  then  Bella  changed  her  staff  into  a  winged 
carriage  which  was  large  enough  to  hold  them 
both,  and  which  took  them  back  to  their  native 
village. 

Now  they  could  get  married ;  but  instead  of  a 
little  cow  and  a  poor  little  pig,  William  bought 
all  the  land  there  was  to  be  sold,  and  all  the  cat- 
tle, horses,  sheep,  and  goats  there  were  to  be  had, 
and  they  built  a  splendid  house,  and  lived  a  long 
life  in  happiness  and  peace. 


THE    BAGPIPER. 


THERE  was  a  consecration-festival  held  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  the  music  and  dancing  con- 
tinued far  into  the  night.  But  when  the  stars, 
brightly  sparkling,  and  the  moon  high  in  heaven 
warned  the  revellers  that  it  was  time  to  break  up, 
the  inhabitants  of  the  different  villages  joined 
company,  and  took  their  way  homewards. 

The  village  lasses  wore  pewter  rings  on  their 
fingers,  which  their  friends  had  given  them  at  the 
fair,  and  the  jovial  village  lads  went  on  before, 
singing  at  the  top  of  their  voices.  But  their  mer- 
riment was  at  its  greatest  height  when  Leonard 
was  one  of  the  party. 

Leonard  was  the  merriest  and  the  most  famous 
piper  in  that  part  of  the  world ;  he  never  knew 
what  it  was  to  be  out  of  spirits,  he  played  up  at 


118  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

every  dance,  and  he  was  always  the  most  pleased 
of  the  whole  party.  Whenever  there  was  a  dance 
or  a  wedding  he  always  came  down  from  the 
mountains  with  his  bagpipe,  and  he  would  play 
the  livelong  night. 

He  was  never  tired  of  playing,  but  he  was  also 
never  tired  of  drinking ;  and  if  it  had  not  been  for 
the  sake  of  his  music,  people  would  not  always 
have  been  so  glad  to  see  him,  for  when  he  had 
drank  a  great  deal,  according  to  his  usual  cus- 
tom, he  became  insufferable,  for  he  did  nothing 
but  rave  and  swear. 

At  these  times  he  would  swear  by  all  that  was 
dear  that  he  would  remain  a  merry  bagpiper  till 
his  end,  and  if  he  ever  felt  that  he  was  going  to 
die,  he  would  drink  deep,  as  long  as  he  could, 
and  mock  death  with  the  last  wail  of  his  bagpipe. 

He  had  gone  on  with  his  usual  recklessness  on 
this  occasion,  or,  if  possible,  he  had  been  even 
wilder  and  more  jovial  than  ever. 

Warning  and  persuasion  were  of  no  avail. 
"  Leonard,  beware  for  your  own  sake,"  his  friends 
cried,  in  vain.  He  cursed  and  swore  high  and  dry 
that  he  would  die  drunk,  and  in  the  midst  of  mu- 
sic and  dancing,  and  no  otherwise. 


THE    BAGPIPER.  119 

This  time  he  preceded  the  homeward-bound 
troop.  His  bagpipe  squeaked  and  whistled  all 
the  way,  and  the  lads  sang  in  their  Swiss  fash- 
ion, and  the  white  dresses  of  the  lasses  glim- 
mered in  the  moonlight. 

When  they  came  to  the  cross-way,  where  the 
roads  parted,  the  bagpiper  took  the  right  hand 
road,  which  led  up  to  the  heights. 

The  maidens  stopped  short  and  shrieked  out, 
"  Where  are  you  going,  piper  ?  Here,  the  left- 
hand  road,  that  goes  round  through  the  valley !  " 

Leonard  pointed  to  the  right,  where  the  tower 
of  the  village  church  could  be  seen  in  the  moon- 
light. 

"  Shall  we  not  go  this  way  ?  "  he  asked.  "  1 
thought  it  was  nearer  over  the  heath ;  why  should 
we  go  so  much  out  of  our  way  ?  " 

The  maidens  replied,  "  It  is  not  safe  to  go  over 
the  heath,  bagpiper  ;  the  dwarfs  haunt  the  place 
in  the  night,  and  it  is  very  seldom  any  one  passes 
over  the  heath  in  the  night-time  without  getting 
into  trouble." 

Leonard  burst  into  a  hearty  laugh.  "  Pray, 
what  harm  can  the  dwarfs  do  to  any  body  ?  " 

"  They  force  you  to  dance,  and  they  can  do  you 
great  harm." 


120  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Ha  !  ha ! "  laughed  Leonard  again.  "  I  have 
wandered  about  alone  many  a  night,  over  moun- 
tain and  valley,  over  cross-ways  and  even  by  the 
gallows,  but  nothing  has  ever  happened  to  me 
yet.  I  should  like  right  well  to  meet  with  the 
little  people,  for  they  are  said  to  own  a  great  deal 
of  silver  and  gold,  and  it  would  be  no  bad  thing 
if  I  filled  my  knapsack  full.  Where  is  the  way 
to  the  dwarfs?" 

"Leonard!  Leonard!"  cried  the  maidens,  "  be 
not  so  foolhardy ;  he  who  plunges  headlong  into 
danger  only  rushes  upon  his  fate.  If  you  go  to 
the  dwarfs,  you  '11  have  to  dance  till  your  breath 
is  wholly  gone." 

"  Dance  ?  "  replied  Leonard,  "  that 's  just  what 
I  should  like.  Pray,  have  the  little  people  any 
musicians  to  play  for  them  ?  " 

"  They  have  the  wind  that  whistles  over  the 
heath  for  their  piper,  and  the  night-birds  join 
their  songs  by  way  of  accompaniment." 

"  They  cannot  dance  very  well  to  such  music 
as  that ;  the  little  people  ought  to  know  for  once 
how  well  one  can  dance  by  a  bagpipe.  Fare- 
well, if  you  will  not  go  with  me.  I'm  going 
over  the  heath." 


THE    BAGPIPER.  121 

With  these  words  he  seized  his  bagpipe,  played 
up  a  merry  tune,  and  strode  boldly  up  the  heights 
which  led  to  the  heath. 

The  maidens  and  their  companions  raised  a 
loud,  lamenting  cry,  and  hastened  away. 

Leonard  strode  fearlessly  on  through  the  moon- 
light, playing  all  the  time  on  his  bagpipe ;  the 
farther  he  went  the  more  jolly  he  grew,  and  the 
squeaking  tones  of  his  bagpipe  screamed  shrill 
through  the  night  air.  When  he  had  got  to  the 
middle  of  the  heath,  he  saw  huge  blocks  of  stone 
that  rose  up  in  the  pale  moonlight,  and  not  far 
from  these  were  the  dwellings  of  the  dwarfs. 

Leonard  kept  on  playing  louder  and  louder,  till 
all  at  once  he  perceived  a  sound,  at  first  like  the 
soft  murmur  of  a  brook,  then  louder  like  the  rush- 
ing of  a  torrent,  and  at  last  deep  and  fearful  like 
the  roar  of  the  breakers.  He  could  hear  low,  tit- 
tering laughs,  suppressed  whispers,  and  at  length 
shuffling  steps  through  the  sand. 

The  piper  held  his  breath.  He  thought  all  this 
very  strange.  He  looked  anxiously  to  the  right 
and  the  left :  the  whole  heath  was  alive  and  stir- 
ring, and  moving  in  every  direction  with  some- 
thing, he  could  not  see  what,  for  the  moon  was 
just  then  covered  by  a  cloud. 


122  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

All  at  once  the  moon  shone  out,  and  Leonard 
cried  out  aloud  with  terror.  On  the  right  and 
on  the  left,  before  him  and  behind  him,  every- 
where, as  far  as  his  eye  could  reach,  the  heath 
was  covered  with  dwarfs,  and  all  were  rushing 
towards  him. 

Leonard  turned  back,  and  would  have  taken  to 
his  heels,  but  the  dwarfs  everywhere  blocked  up 
his  way,  and  called  out  with  their  grasshopper- 
like  voices  :  "  This  is  the  jolly  piper,  Leonard, 
who  is  come  to  play  for  us  to  dance." 

Leonard  struck  about  him,  and  tried  to  keep 
off  the  dwarfs,  but  they  cried  out,  "  You  belong 
to  us,  and  now  you  shall  see  come  to  pass  what 
you  have  always  declared  should  happen.  Play 
up  and  dance  with  us." 

All  resistance  was  vain,  an  invisible  power  con- 
strained him ;  he  put  the  mouth-piece  of  the  bag- 
pipe to  his  lips,  and  began  to  play  and  to  dance 
in  spite  of  himself.  The  dwarfs  whirled  with 
him  in  a  circle,  and  every  time  he  tried  to  stop, 
they  shouted,  "  Play  away,  jolly  piper !  play  and 
dance  as  we  do  ! " 

So  it  went  on  the  whole  night.  But  the  paler 
grew  the  stars,  the  weaker  grew  the  tones  of  the 


THE    BAGPIPER.  123 

bagpipe,  and  Leonard  could  scarcely  lift  his  feet 
from  the  ground ;  but  when  the  day  dawned  and 
the  cocks  began  to  crow,  the  dwarfs  vanished  and 
all  became  still. 

The  jolly  mountain  piper  fell  breathless  to  the 
ground.  The  bagpipe  dropped  from  his  mouth, 
his  hands  fell  powerless  at  his  side,  and  his  head 
sunk  heavily  upon  his  breast.  All  around  him 
in  the  air  resounded  a  kind  of  whispered  song :  — 

"  Sleep,  jolly  piper,  sleep !  what  you  have  so 
often  sworn  should  happen,  has  come  to  pass. 
Your  last  moment  was  spent  in  music,  dancing, 
and  drunkenness." 

When  the  people  came  in  the  morning  to  look 
for  the  piper,  they  found  him  lying  dead  on  the 
heath.  The  meeting  with  the  dwarfs  had  been 
his  destruction. 


THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE 
HEATH. 


A  SOBER,  temperate  disposition  is  a  very  excel- 
lent thing.  For  he  who  gives  himself  up  to  glut- 
tony and  drunkenness  runs  all  sorts  of  dangers, 
and  he  never  knows  whether  he  shall  reach  home 
safe  or  not.  Not  merely  that  the  foot  becomes 
too  light  when  the  head  grows  too  heavy,  and  a 
man  loses  his  balance,  and  stumbles  and  staggers 
about,  but  there  are  other  risks  to  be  run.  When 
a  man  goes  home  in  the  night  with  too  much 
under  his  hat,  then  the  wine-spirits  out  in  the 
midnight  start  into  life,  and  open  for  him  a  pair 
of  eyes  such  as  he  never  has  at  other  times,  and 
then  he  sees  all  sorts  of  things  which  a  sober 
man  never  sees  or  gives  himself  any  trouble 
about.  For  the  wine-spirits  leave  a  man  no  rest, 
but  with  their  wicked  brothers  and  sisters  change 


THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE  HEATH.   125 

themselves  into  Nixies  and  Kobolds,  and  thereby 
lure  him  on  to  destruction.  Let  every  one  take 
heed,  then,  that  he  goes  home  sober,  or  else  he 
may  fare  like  William,  the  hero  of  our  tale. 

William  was  a  drunken  swaggerer,  who  did 
no  good  his  life  long,  but  lay  the  whole  day  in 
the  alehouse,  and  spent  his  money  for  beer,  or 
wine,  or  brandy.  This  propensity  he  had  inher- 
ited from  his  father,  who  often  drank  a  mug 
more  than  was  necessary  to  quench  his  thirst, 
and  you  know, 

"  As  the  old  cock  crows,  so  crows  the  young." 

His  father  had  broken  his  neck  in  a  drunken  fit, 
and  it  was  a  real  miracle  that  William  still  had 
the  use  of  his  limbs,  he  had  had  so  many  falls 
and  mishaps  himself. 

In  the  morning  he  was  the  first  at  the  ale- 
house, and  at  night  he  was  the  last.  He  never 
failed  to  be  at  a  fair,  and  when  the  uproar  was 
right  boisterous,  you  might  be  sure  William  was 
there,  and  that  he  shouted  and  screamed  the 
loudest  of  all. 

His  mother,  his  sisters,  and  his  wife  had  all 
died  in  one  short  year,  but  this  had  not  touched 
him  in  the  least.  He  took  possession  of  their 


126  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

property,  and  only  thought,  "  Well,  I  can  drink 
the  more ! " 

While  the  funerals  were  taking  place,  he  sat 
behind  his  glass,  and  sung  in  an  insolent  tone :  — 

"  What  if  I  have  no  wife  at  home ! 
I  '11  e'en  go  out  in  search  of  one." 

And  so  said,  so  done. 

The  magistrate  and  other  respectable  men 
warned  him,  but  in  vain.  He  pursued  the  same 
mad  course,  and  the  more  he  was  advised,  the 
worse  he  behaved. 

It  happened  that  the  village  fair  fell  upon 
Walpurgis-day,  the  first  of  May,  the  time  when 
the  witches  are  abroad,  and  when  they  practise 
their  wicked  arts  on  the  rash  and  unwary. 

As  at  this  time  there  is  always  a  great  deal  to 
be  done  in  the  field,  thrifty  people  took  care  to 
return  home  in  good  season.  Not  so  with  Wil- 
liam. He  had  fallen  in  with  a  goodly  number  of 
sailors  and  dissolute  people  at  an  alehouse,  and 
he  was  singing  with  the  bar-maids  all  kinds  of 
frivolous  songs,  so  that  he  thought  nothing  about 
the  time. 

At  midnight,  all  had  filled  their  heads  and  bel- 
lies, and  had  lain  themselves  down  to  rest.  Wil- 


THE    WASHERWOMEN    ON    THE    HEATH.        127 

liam  had  had  his  share,  but  still  he  never  had 
enough.  Vexed  that  the  others  had  left  off  so 
soon,  he  started  off  on  his  way  home,  singing 
through  the  streets  all  kinds  of  drinking  songs, 
and  he  jodelied  and  shouted,  and  swept  about 
right  and  left  with  his  cane,  so  that  if  any  one 
had  passed  him  they  would  certainly  have  been 
hurt. 

Thus  he  came  to  a  crossway  where  the  road 
divided  into  two.  One  road  was  longer,  but  in 
good  order,  and  perfectly  safe;  the  other  was 
shorter,  but  it  went  over  a  heath,  and  beneath 
the  gallows,  and  people  who  passed  that  way  in 
the  night-time  had  always  heard  singular  noises, 
and  in  fear  and  trouble  had  reached  the  village 
on  the  full  run. 

William,  in  his  tipsy  mood,  troubled  himself 
about  nothing,  but  took  at  random  the  left-hand 
road ;  and  as  he  went  along,  he  made  such  a 
clatter  with  his  wooden  shoes  upon  the  stones, 
that  he  might  have  been  heard  a  long  way  off. 

The  night  was  dark,  neither  star  nor  moon 
was  to  be  seen  in  the  sky ;  the  wind  swept  over 
the  heath  with  a  blustering  sound,  the  brook 
which  flowed  through  it  rippled  over  the  stones 


128  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

with  a  kind  of  dreamy  monotony,  and  the  thorn- 
bushes  on  the  road-side  trembled  as  a  person  does 
when  overcome  by  terror ;  and  between  whiles, 
nothing  was  heard  but  the  far-resounding  steps 
of  William,  who  took  no  heed  of  all  this,  but 
reeled  along  in  his  drunken,  care-for-n aught 
fashion. 

As  he  came  along  by  some  old  ruins,  the 
weathercock  creaked,  and  called  out  audibly  to 
William :  "  Turn  back  !  turn  back  " ! 

William  did  not  hear,  and  went  steadily  on. 

He  came  to  the  brook ;  the  water  murmured  : 
"  No  farther !  no  farther !  no  farther ! " 

William  groped  with  his  cane  for  the  crossing- 
stones  that  lay  in  the  brook,  and  strode  boldly 
over  to  the  other  side. 

A  little  way  oft'  there  stood  an  old  oak-tree. 
The  wind  whistled  fearfully  in  the  branches,  and 
whispered  in  William's  ear :  "  Stay  here !  stay 
here !  stay  here  ! " 

William  took  his  cane,  struck  at  the  branches 
of  the  tree,  switched  off  a  couple  of  twigs,  and 
went  on. 

At  last  he  came  to  the  place  on  the  moor  that 
had  always  had  a  very  bad  reputation.  In  the 


THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE  HEATH.    129 

neighboring  village,  he  plainly  heard  the  clock 
strike  twelve.  William  commenced  whistling  a 
tune,  but  just  as  he  was  in  the  midst  of  it,  such 
a  strange  sound  met  his  ear,  that  he  held  his 
breath,  and  listened  to  see  what  it  could  be. 
The  noise  was  that  of  a  carriage,  but  the  sound 

it  the  wheels  made  was  peculiar,  and  before 

i  could  rightly  make  out  what  it  meant,  he 
,ould  see  a  vehicle  coming  directly  towards  him. 
It  seemed  to  be  covered  with  a  pall,  and  when 
William  looked  steadily  at  it,  he  found  it  was  a 
hearse.  It  was  drawn  by  six  black,  horses,  and 
Death  sat  in  front  as  driver,  with  his  hour-glass 
and  scythe.  The  skeleton  coachman  cried  out: 
"  Make  way,  or  die  ! " 

"  What  are  you  doing  here,  friend  Death  ? " 
cried  William,  boldly,  as  the  hearse  drove  along- 
side. 

"  I  attack  and  I  cut  down  ! "  answered  the  skel- 
eton. 

"  Then  you  are  a  robber  and  a  murderer  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  reaper  without  mercy  or  forbear- 
ance." 

"  In  other  words,  you  are  a  brute  or  a  fool. 
But  pray  what  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 
9 


130  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  I  am  looking  for  a  man  named  William,"  re- 
plied the  man  of  bones,  and  drove  on. 

William  laughed  aloud,  and  walked  on. 

When  he  had  struck  deeper  into  the  heath, 
where  the  brook  became  wider,  he  saw  two 
women  hanging  linen  on  the  thorn-bushes. 

"  By  my  faith,"  cried  William,  "  these  damsels 
are  not  afraid  of  spectres.  Tell  me,  my  dear 
little  doves,  what  are  you  doing  so  late  on  the 
heath  ?  " 

"  We  wash,  we  wring,  we  bleach,"  answered 
both  women  at  the  same  moment. 

"  But  what,  pray  ?  " 

"  The  shirt  of  the  dead  man  who  at  this  mo- 
ment still  walks  and  talks." 

"  A  dead  man  ?  Hey  ?  But  I  must  know 
who  he  is." 

"His  name  is  William." 

William  broke  out  into  a  loud  laugh,  as  he 
had  done  before,  and  went  stumping  along  by 
the  side  of  the  brook. 

The  farther  he  went,  the  plainer  he  heard  a 
noise  before  him,  which  came  from  the  washer- 
women on  the  heath,  who  in  the  broadest  part 
of  the  brook  were  beating  the  linen  in  the  water, 


THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE  HEATH.   131 

and  not  long  afterwards  William  saw  them  him- 
self. They  washed  and  wrung  out  grave-clothes, 
and  sang  in  a  fearful  way :  — 

"  We  whirl  in  the  dance, 
In  the  darkness  of  night, 
By  the  moon's  pale  glance, 
By  the  stars'  gleaming  light. 

"  In  rain  and  in  snow, 
Winter's  cold,  summer's  glow, 
We  wash  and  we  spread 
The  clothes  for  the  dead, 
Who  to-day,  full  of  life, 
Rejoice  in  health's  glow, 

Like  roses  so  red, 
t 

In  the  morning  are  dead. 

O,  woe  to  thee,  William,  0,  woe  ! " 

As  soon  as  these  strange  people  got  a  sight  of 
William,  they  hastened  up  to  him,  and,  holding 
out  the  linen  they  were  washing,  requested  him 
to  help  them  wring  it  out. 

"  That  is  a  trifling  service,  which  no  one  would 
refuse  to  such  pretty  children,"  said  William,  in 
his  tipsy  good-naturedness  ;  "  but  one  at  a  time, 
for  a  man  has  but  two  hands,  and  he  cannot 
serve  all  at  once." 

He  laid  down  his  staff,  and  seized  the  grave- 


132  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

clothes  of  one  of  the  washerwomen,  and  tried  all 
the  time  to  twist  the  same  way  that  she  did  ;  for 
he  had  presence  of  mind  enough  to  remember, 
that  this  was  the  only  way  that  he  could  escape 
being  torn  limb  from  limb.  While  he  was  thus 
wringing  and  twisting,  the  other  women  carne 
up,  and  William  thought  he  recognized  among 
them  his  mother,  wife,  and  sisters,  and  it  seemed 
to  him  that  they  called  out  to  him,  in  a  fearful 
tone :  — 

"  Woe  to  you,  you  reckless  drunkard  !  You 
have  rejoiced  over  our  death,  because  you  could 
drink  up  our  property ;  but  the  hour  is  come, 
when  you  have  drunk  the  last  drop  you  ever  will 
drink." 

And  then  they  shook  out  their  dishevelled  hair, 
which  hung  down  long  and  wild  behind  them, 
and  looked  like  a  tissue  of  snakes,  and  they 
swung  huge  wooden  mallets,  with  which  they 
pounded  the  clothes  they  were  washing,  and  with 
angry  gestures  they  cried  out  more  threateningly 
and  fearfully  than  ever :  "  Woe  to  thee,  William, 
O,  woe ! " 

This  took  away  all  William's  self-command. 
The  sweat  poured  from  his  forehead,  and  as  he 


THE  WASHERWOMEN  ON  THE  HEATH.   133 

raised  one  hand  to  his  head  to  push  back  his  hair, 
he  forgot  to  twist  the  same  way  with  the  wash- 
erwoman. The  very  moment  that  he  wrung  the 
other  way,  the  cloth  was  torn  from  his  hands, 
and  every  member  of  his  body  was  wrenched  to 
pieces  by  the  Washerwomen  on  the  Heath,  and 
he  fell  senseless  to  the  ground. 

The  next  morning,  the  maidens  who  went  to 
the  city  to  carry  their  milk  to  market  saw  Wil- 
liam lying  in  a  hole  under  a  bush  on  the  heath. 
They  supposed  he  had  drunk  too  much  brandy, 
and  had  fallen  there  on  his  way  home.  They 
went  up  to  awaken  him,  and  they  saw  that  all 
his  joints  were  dislocated.  Full  of  terror,  they 
ran  into  the  village,  and  called  some  of  the  neigh- 
bors. The  magistrate  came  also,  for  he  thought 
some  crime  had  been  committed.  But  when  he 
saw  how  twisted  the  whole  body  was,  he  said:— 

"  Let  him  alone,  children.  William  is  dead  ; 
he  has  been  wringing  grave-clothes  with  the 
Washerwomen  on  the  Heath." 


THE  GIFTS  OF  THE  DWARFS. 


A  GREAT  many  years  ago  there  lived  an  old 
man  in  a  village,  who,  with  his  wife,  used  to  go, 
year  in  and  year  out,  to  work  for  other  people, 
and  thus  earn  their  living.  Benedict  was  the 
poorest  man  in  the  village,  but  what  was  denied 
him  in  worldly  goods  was  amply  made  up  to  him 
in  two  other  endowments,  one  of  which  was  very 
desirable  and  the  other  as  undesirable ;  namely, 
he  had  a  very  excellent  heart,  and  a  terrible  hump 
on  his  back.  The  first  gained  him  many  friends, 
and  endeared  him  to  every  body,  but  by  reason 
of  the  latter  he  often  had  to  endure  the  unfeeling 
jests  of  the  idle  vagabonds  of  the  streets.  And  in- 
deed this  hump  was  a  little  too  big,  for  if  Bene- 
dict wished  to  sit  down,  he  must  either  take  a 
chair  without  a  back,  or  else  let  himself  down 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  135 

flat  on  the  floor,  because  this  burdensome  embel- 
lishment of  his  was  for  ever  in  the  way.  Even 
his  wife,  who  loved  him  dearly,  and  who  before 
their  marriage  never  thought  any  thing  at  all 
about  the  hump,  in  the  course  of  a  year  began  to 
think  it  was  rather  uncomely,  and  she  would  of- 
ten say :  "  Ah !  dear  Benedict,  how  handsome 
you  would  be,  if  your  back  was  a  little  more 
slender !  I  believe  you  would  be  the  handsomest 
man  in  the  whole  village." 

This  observation  Benedict  had  to  hear  repeat- 
ed one  day  when  he  was  returning  with  his  wife 
from  their  day's  labor. 

They  had  been  turning  hay  for  a  rich  neigh- 
bor, and  as  they  were  not  lazy  hirelings,  who  ran 
away  from  their  work  as  soon  as  the  prayer-bell 
sounded,  but  were  willing  to  labor  till  their  work 
was  done,  they  came  home  unusually  late.  The 
meadows  in  which  they  had  been  at  work  lay  a 
long  distance  from  the  village.  The  stars  al- 
ready twinkled  high  in  heaven,  and  the  night 
was  far  advanced.  Benedict  must  cross  a  wide 
heath,  which  was  not  considered  safe  by  night. 
But  he  had  never  done  harm  to  man  or  beast, 
and  so  he  had  a  clear  conscience,  and  was  afraid 
of  nothing. 


136  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Come,  Lisette,"  said  he,  "  let 's  make  haste, 
and  get  over  the  heath  as  soon  as  possible,  for 
wicked  dwarfs  live  there,  who  compel  belated 
wanderers  to  dance  till  their  breath  gives  out, 
and  they  are  found  the  next  morning  lying  dead 
in  the  open  air." 

They  walked  hastily  on.  But  when  they  came 
to  the  middle  of  the  heath,  where  a  great  quan- 
tity of  stone  blocks  were  lying  about,  among 
which  the  dwarfs  dwell,  a  long  row  of  little  ko- 
bolds  rushed  out  upon  them.  Some  of  them  car- 
ried great  horns  on  which  they  blew,  and  the  oth- 
ers, with  hands  joined,  danced  about,  forming  a 
great  circle  around  Benedict  and  his  wife,  whom 
they  thus  inclosed  in  their  midst. 

"  Alackaday !  "  cried  Benedict  to  his  wife,  "  we 
are  lost!  If  the  dwarfs  force  us  to  dance,  it 
is  all  over  with  us." 

Dame  Lisette  clung  tightly  to  her  husband, 
and  could  not  speak  for  terror. 

The  dwarfs  were  actually  making  preparation 
to  force  the  good  people  to  dance.  But  they  had 
no  sooner  approached  Benedict  than  they  started 
back  with  a  loud  shriek,  and  cried  in  a  singing 
tone : — 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  137 

"  Let  him  go,  let  him  go, 
The  sickle  protects  him ; 
Ah !  the  sickle  protects  him, 
Safe,  away  let  him  go." 

"  Aha !  "  thought  Benedict,  "  they  are  afraid  of 
the  sickle.  In  my  whole  life  I  never  thought  that 
that  thing  was  of  any  other  use  than  to  cut  grass." 

He  drew  his  wife  hastily  along  with  him,  and 
they  soon  reached  their  home  in  safety.  But  all 
night  his  thoughts  were  very  busy.  He  thought 
about  the  hump  which  his  wife  had  to-day  for  the 
third  time  found  so  ugly,  and  about  the  dwarfs 
who  understood  so  many  arts,  and  who  were  so 
afraid  of  his  sickle.  He  said  not  a  word,  but  in 
the  morning,  when  he  got  up,  he  thought,  "  I 
know  what  I  will  do." 

At  evening,  he  contrived  it  so  that  he  should 
go  home  alone.  He  waited  till  the  stars  glis- 
tened in  the  sky,  like  millions  of  precious  gems, 
and  nobody  dared  at  that  late  hour  to  go  near 
the  heath.  Then  he  took  his  sickle  in  his  hand 
and  went  straight  to  the  heath. 

The  dwarfs  saw  him  coming,  when  he  was  a 
good  way  off,  and  they  called  out  in  a  friendly 
way,  "  See !  there  comes  Benedict !  " 


138  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Yes,"  answered  Benedict,  "  now  I  know  that 
you  live  in  my  neighborhood,  I  have  come  to  pay 
you  a  visit." 

"  That  is  brave,"  cried  the  dwarfs.  "  Will  you 
dance  a  little  with  us  ?  " 

"  Do  not  take  it  ill,  dear  little  people,  but  I  am 
very  short-breathed,  and  I  could  not  hold  out 
long." 

"  We  will  stop  as  soon  as  you  say  so." 

"  Will  you  promise  me  that  ?  "  said  Benedict, 
who  thought  it  would  be  no  harm  to  have  one 
round  with  them,  for  the  sake  of  getting  into 
their  good  graces. 

"  We  promise  it,"  answered  the  little  people. 

"  Swear  it  by  my  sickle  !  " 

"  We  swear  it  by  your  sickle." 

Benedict  trusted  the  little  people,  stepped  into 
the  ring,  and  the  dance  began. 

The  dwarfs  sang  as  they  danced,  but  it  was 
always  the  same  thing  over  and  over  again :  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day." 

Benedict  bore  this  for  a  while,  then  he  stood 
still  and  said :  "  All  due  deference  to  you,  little 
people,  but  your  song  is  horribly  monotonous; 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  139 

you  always  stick  in  the  middle  of  the  week,  and 
you  never  get  over  the  middle ;  with  your  permis- 
sion I  will  add  another  line,  but  you  must  put 
up  with  it,  good  or  bad,  for  I'm  no  rhymester." 

"  Excellent !  let  us  hear,"  cried  the  dwarfs. 

Benedict  began  to  sing :  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Thursday,  Friday,  likewise  say." 

The  dwarfs  manifested  the  most  lively  emo- 
tion. "  Bravo  !  bravo  !  "  they  cried,  and  crowd- 
ed around  Benedict.  "  Thou  art  an  unequalled 
poet,  and  canst  dance  famously.  Sing  it  once 
more ! " 

Benedict  sang  it  over  again  :  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Thursday,  Friday,  likewise  say." 

The  dwarfs  whirled  in  a  dizzy  dance,  as  if  mad 
with  joy,  then  hastened  again  to  Benedict  and 
cried  out  all  at  once :  "  Hast  thou  any  wish  ? 
What  desirest  thou  ?  Wilt  thou  have  riches  or 
beauty  ?  Thou  mayst  express  one  wish,  we 
will  fulfil  it!" 

"  Are  you  in  earnest  ?  "  asked  Benedict,  sur- 
prised. 

"  Sober  earnest.     Wish  !     Wish !  " 


140  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"Now,  then,"  said  Benedict,  "just  look  here. 
I  have  a  hump  which  I  like  none  of  the  best,  and 
it  does  not  seem  to  please  my  wife  any  better ; 
could  you  help  me  off  with  it  ?  " 

"  Never  fear  that.     Come  here." 

They  seized  Benedict,  and  began  to  toss  him 
like  a  ball  from  one  to  the  other,  till  he  had  made 
the  round  of  the  whole  circle. 

"  It 's  all  over  with  thee  now,"  thought  Bene- 
dict, as  he  flew  briskly  through  the  air,  "the 
dwarfs  have  betrayed  thee ! "  But  when  he 
came  back  to  the  first  dwarf,  he  placed  him  qui- 
etly on  his  feet  again,  and  Benedict's  hump  was 
gone!  He  had  become  so  trim  and  handsome 
that  his  own  mother  would  never  have  known 
him! 

At  first  his  wife  would  not  receive  him  into 
the  house  at  any  rate.  Benedict  had  to  tell  her 
how  many  shirts  he  had  lying  in  his  chest,  and 
how  many  spots  there  were  on  his  working-coat ; 
at  last  she  believed  him,  and  allowed  him  to  tell 
her  how  he  had  become  so  changed.  She  scold- 
ed him  somewhat,  though,  because  he  had  risked 
himself  among  the  wicked  dwarfs,  but  her  joy  at 
seeing  him  so  beautified  was  plainly  enough  to 
be  read  in  her  face. 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  141 

The  hut  that  Benedict  lived  in  belonged  to 
his  neighbor,  a  tailor,  who  was  a  very  spruce 
little  man,  and  very  rich,  but  he  was  extremely 
avaricious,  and  stuttered  a  little.  The  tailor 
had  been  dunning  Benedict  for  his  house-rent 
for  several  days,  and  when  he  observed  the 
change  which  he  had  undergone,  he  became  en- 
vious of  his  good  luck,  for  a  covetous  person 
cannot  help  feeling  pain  whenever  any  thing 
good  happens  to  another,  let  the  thing  be  ever  so 
trifling  or  innocent.  He  thought  it  must  have 
been  brought  about  in  some  very  unusual  way, 
and  he  determined  to  sift  the  matter  to  the  bot- 
tom. 

So  he  went  to  Benedict,  demanded  the  house- 
rent  again,  and  threatened  to  turn  him  out  of  the 
house  if  he  did  not  pay  him  on  the  spot.  Bene- 
dict begged  him  to  wait  a  couple  of  days  till  he 
received  his  wages,  and  then  he  should  be  able 
to  discharge  the  debt.  But  the  grasping  tailor 
would  give  no  pardon.  At  last,  after  long  en- 
treaty, he  said,  "  Well,  I  will  wait  three  days,  if 
you  will  tell  me  how  you  got  rid  of  your  hump." 

Benedict  told  him  the  whole  story,  and  also 
imparted  to  him  the  secret  of  the  sickle. 


142  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Beauty  and  riches ! "  thought  the  tailor, 
"  that  will  not  be  a  difficult  choice,  and  one  can 
wish  according  to  his  fancy." 

As  soon  as  the  moon  was  in  the  sky,  he  went 
to  the  heath,  and  there  he  found  the  dwarfs. 
They  were  singing  their  old  verse  with  the  addi- 
tion that  Benedict  had  made  to  it,  and  they 
danced  merrily  in  a  circle.  The  tailor  danced 
with  them,  and  after  he  had  gone  round  in  the 
ring  some  time,  he  stopped  and  called  out  that 
he  would  like  to  add  a  line  also. 

The  dwarfs  stood  still  in  their  delight.  "  Sing ! " 
they  cried,  "  sing !  " 

They  themselves  began  :  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Thursday,  Friday,  likewise  say." 

"Sing!  sing!"   cried  they. 
Stammering  began  the  tailor :  — 

"Sa-Sa- Saturday." 

"  Go  on !  go  on ! "  cried  the  dwarfs. 
"  Sa-Sa-Saturday  thereto." 

The  tailor  could  get  no  farther,  the  sweat  stood 
in  big  drops  on  his  forehead,  and  his  heart 
thumped  like  a  hammer. 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS. 


143 


The  dwarfs  ran  about  wildly,  and  seemed  to 
be  angry  with  the  tailor.  At  last  they  ranged 
themselves  around  him  and  said  :  "  Since  you 
have  changed  our  verse  somewhat,  you  shall 
have  your  wish.  Choose  between  beauty  and 
riches." 

The  tailor  recovered  fresh  courage. 

"  Hear ! "  said  he,  "  Benedict  has  chosen  beau- 
ty; that  you  may  not  have  to  grant  the  same 
thing  twice,  I  will  take  what  Benedict  did  not 
wish  for." 

The  dwarfs  instantly  seized  him,  and  flung 
him  from  one  hand  to  the  other  through  the  cir- 
cle. When  he  had  reached  the  last,  his  wish  was 
fulfilled,  but  not  in  the  sense  that  he  meant,  that 
he  should  obtain  money  and  possessions,  but  the 
hump  which  Benedict  did  not  wish  for  sat  be- 
tween his  shoulders.  With  insults  and  abuse 
the  dwarfs  drove  him  from  the  heath.  The  tai- 
lor was  raving  over  this  disaster,  and  like  most 
people,  who  are  always  ready  to  shift  the  blame 
of  the  mischief  they  have  brought  upon  them- 
selves, upon  others,  he  cried  out  that  Benedict 
had  misled  him,  and  he  swore  to  be  revenged 
upon  him.  He  shut  himself  up  two  whole  days, 


144     POPULAR  LEGENDS  OF  BRITTANY. 

and  on  the  evening  of  the  second  day  he  ?cvA 
word  to  Benedict,  that,  if  he  did  not  pay  ihe  rent 
the  next  morning,  he  would  have  him  expelled 
from  the  house,  and  he  would  sell  all  lhat  -\vns 
in  it. 

Benedict  had  expected  that  the  tailor  would 
wait  one  day  longer.  When  he  received  this 
message  and  heard  the  people  in  the  village 
whispering  to  each  other  that  the  tailor  now  car- 
ried Benedict's  hump,  then  he  lost  all  hope.  In 
great  distress  he  took  the  sickle  and  went  to  the 
heath. 

The  dwarfs  were  again  singing  their  song :  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Thursday,  Friday,  likewise  say, 
Sa-Sa-Saturday  thereto." 

Sad  as  Benedict  was,  he  could  not  help  laugh- 
ing. "  That  does  not  jingle  well  at  all,"  said  he. 

"  Ah  !  there  is  our  Benedict !  Yes,  yes,  that  is 
a  poor  rhyme." 

"  Well,  let 's  see,  perhaps  the  thing  might  be 
improved,"  said  Benedict, and  he  began  to  sing:  — 

"  Monday,  Tuesday,  Wed-nes-day, 
Thursday,  Friday,  likewise  say, 
Add  the  Saturday  thereto, 
Sunday  we  have  nought  to  do." 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  145 

"  Bravo  !  bravo ! "  cried  the  dwarfs.  "  Bene- 
dict is  our  deliverer!  He  has  completed  the 
verse  that  was  given  us,  and  we  are  released  from 
our  dance." 

They  crowded  round  Benedict,  and  told  him. 
that,  as  a  punishment  for  some  improper  use  they 
h  id  made  of  their  power,  they  had  been  con- 
demned to  dwell  on  this  heath  and  dance  the 
livelong  night  till  some  one  should  finish  the 
verse,  the  first  words  of  which  were  furnished 
them. 

"  How  pleased  they  are ! "  thought  Benedict, 
"  now  will  be  a  good  time  to  present  my  peti- 
tion." Then  he  complained  to  the  dwarfs,  that 
he  was  obliged  to  suffer  for  what  they  had  done 
to  the  tailor,  and  that  he  would  the  next  morning 
turn  him  out  of  the  house  and  sell  all  his  prop- 
erty if  he  did  not  pay  the  rent. 

"  Do  not  give  yourself  any  uneasiness  about 
that.  We  leave  the  heath  now,  and  we  shall 
gladly  show  ourselves  grateful  to  our  deliverer. 
Look !  here  between  the  stones  lie  twelve  sacks ; 
they  shall  be  yours,  take  them  and  carry  them  to 
your  house."  Benedict  thanked  them,  took  his 
leave,  and  went  home  with  the  sacks. 
10 


146  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

When  he  got  home,  he  threw  his  heavy  load 
on  the  floor,  and  called  to  his  wife  :  — 

"  Kindle  a  fire,  and  fasten  door  and  windows, 
so  that  our  neighbor  may  see  nothing  of  the  rich- 
es I  have  brought  home.  Zounds,  how  heavy  it 
was !  There  must  be  enough  to  buy  three  whole 
villages !  " 

The  wife  did  as  he  said,  then  she  hastened 
back,  and  opened  one  sack  after  another ;  in  ev- 
ery one  there  was  nothing  but  sand,  dry 

leaves,  and  pebble-stones.  At  this  sight,  she  ut- 
tered a  loud  cry. 

"  There  !  see  what  thou  hast !  I  have  always 
told  thee  that  nothing  good  ever  came  from  the 
dwarfs.  If  it  only  does  not  bring  more  misfor- 
tune to  our  house" 

Benedict  stood  stupefied  with  horror;  in  his 
fright  the  sickle  which  he  still  held  fell  from  his 
hand.  The  handle  was  of  hazel-wood,  and  it  fell 
exactly  into  the  sack.  The  dry  leaves  immedi- 
ately changed  into  gold  pieces,  the  pebble-stones 
into  diamonds,  and  the  sand  into  pearls.  Bene- 
dict perceived  now  that  the  hazel-wood  possessed 
peculiar  powers,  not  merely  to  make  a  bad  boy 
behave  himself,  but  to  change  enchanted  treas- 


THE    GIFTS    OF    THE    DWARFS.  147 

ures  back  again  to  what  they  were  originally. 
He  tried  the  same  experiment  with  the  remain- 
ing sacks,  and  became  at  once  the  richest  man 
in  the  place,  to  the  great  vexation  of  the  tailor, 
who  would  gladly  have  seen  himself  in  Bene- 
dict's place,  but  in  his  greedy  avarice  had  only 
brought  upon  himself  a  most  unwelcome  acqui- 
sition. 

Observe  now,  content  is  far  better  than  ava- 
rice. 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY. 


TIME  out  of  mind,  there  once  lived  a  king, 
whom  all  the  people  loved  and  praised  because 
he  was  benevolent  and  kind  beyond  measure. 
Unfortunately,  however,  he  had  a  daughter  who 
led  a  wild  life,  and  who  had  left  her  father  in  or- 
der to  get  rid  of  his  serious  admonitions.  This 
grieved  the  king  exceedingly,  but  he  could  not 
remedy  the  evil ;  for  though  his  daughter  vexed 
him  greatly,  he  loved  her  too  much  to  take  any 
severe  measures  against  her. 

One  day  the  king  was  hunting  with  his  reti- 
nue in  a  great  wood,  when  they  all  lost  their 
way,  and  at  length  reached  the  hut  of  a  hermit 
The  king  had  heard  a  great  deal  about  this  her- 
mit, that  he  was  a  man  who  understood  wonder- 
ful things,  and  he  rejoiced  that  he  was  so  fortu- 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY.  149 

nate  as  to  meet  him.  The  hermit  received  the 
king  and  his  followers  in  a  most  friendly  man- 
ner, and  when  he  saw  by  their  sad  faces  that 
they  were  hungry,  he  inquired  of  the  king  if  he 
would  not  take  a  bit  of  luncheon. 

The  king  replied,  that  he  had  not  tasted  a 
mouthful  since  morning.  The  hermit  then  called 
the  king's  cook  and  cup-bearer,  led  them  to 
the  spring,  gave  the  cup-bearer  a  pitcher  of  wa- 
ter, and  the  cook  a  little  fish  out  of  the  basin,  and 
ordered  them  to  make  ready  a  repast  for  the  king. 

Cook  and  cup-bearer  began  to  laugh  aloud, 
and  inquired  if  he  thought  they  were  beggars. 

But  the  hermit  replied,  that  it  was  all  the 
same  to  them,  and  they  had  only  to  do  as  he 
bade  them. 

They  made  contemptuous  faces,  and  then  did 
as  the  hermit  had  commanded  them\  Butlko^ 
were  they  surprised,  when,  instead  of  watej^ge^vj 
en  wine  flowed,  and  the  little  fish  changed  into 
many  large  and  delicious  trout.     They  ran  hastily 
to  the  king,  and  informed  him  of  the  miracle. 

The  king  ate,  gave  thanks,  and  begged  the 
hermit  to  go  with  him  to  his  court,  and  he  would 
make  him  Chancellor.  The  hermit  consented, 


150  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

and  the  king  assigned  him  a  residence  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  city  in  which  the  princess  had 
established  herself,  because  he  hoped  that  the 
influence  of  the  hermit  might  have  a  good  effect 
upon  her. 

But  the  princess  was  a  wicked  enchantress. 
The  city  in  which  she  dwelt  was  the  most 
splendid  in  the  world.  It  lay  beneath  the  level 
of  the  sea,  but  the  princess  had  summoned  all 
the  spirits  which  were  under  her  authority  to 
build  high  walls,  to  prevent  the  encroachment  of 
the  waters,  and  to  erect  the  most  splendid  pal- 
aces and  castles  that  could  be  imagined.  All  the 
people  who  lived  in  the  city  were  rich  as  princes, 
but  the  princess  wore  around  her  neck  a  golden 
chain  with  silver  keys,  which  were  worth  more 
than  the  whole  city;  because  these  silver  keys 
locked  up  the  flood-gates  of  the  sea,  which  the 
princess  herself  went  every  day  to  open,  to  let  the 
water  into  the  city,  in  order  that  there  might  be 
no  mistake  or  oversight  by  which  the  water 
should  inundate  the  whole  city. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  city  all  being  so  very 
rich,  became  voluptuous  and  extravagant,  and  in 
their  arrogance  they  committed  all  kinds  of 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY.  151 

crimes  and  iniquities  of  which  human  beings  are 
capable.  In  this  respect,  the  princess  herself  fur- 
nished them  with  an  example,  which  all  were  ea- 
ger to  imitate.  In  her  court  there  was  continual 
feasting  and  banqueting,  so  that  the  fame  thereof 
went  forth  into  the  most  remote  lands,  and  all 
the  nobles  and  gentry  came  to  witness  the  splen- 
dor, and  the  princess  received  them  graciously 
till  far  into  the  night,  then,  when  they  attempted 
to  depart,  she  caused  them  to  be  strangled  and 
thrown  into  the  sea. 

The  hermit  had  heard  of  all  these  proceedings, 
and  had  warned  the  princess  against  continuing 
such  a  course.  But  the  princess  believed  that 
what  he  said  came  in  reality  from  her  father,  and 
she  therefore  invited  him  to  visit  her,  and  threw 
him  into  a  dark  dungeon,  and  she  warned  the  her- 
mit not  to  let  himself  be  seen  at  her  court  again. 

Some  days  after  this,  there  was  a  great  ban- 
quet given,  on  account  of  a  foreign  prince,  who 
had  come  a  great  many  hundred  miles  to  witness 
the  magnificence  of  the  princess.  He  was  a  tall 
man,  arrayed  in  red  satin,  his  beard  was  also  red, 
and  his  eyes  gleamed  like  glowing  coals.  The 
prince  complimented  the  princess  very  much 


152  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

upon  the  splendor  of  her  court  and  the  beauty  of 
the  wonderful  city.  She  entertained  him  in  her 
finest  style,  and  at  evening  she  invited  him  to 
dance. 

The  unknown  prince  danced  with  the  princess, 
and  during  his  flattering  conversation  she  did  not 
observe  that  he  had  stolen  the  silver  keys.  In 
the  night,  just  as  the  princess  was  about  to  have 
the  prince  strangled  and  thrown  into  the  sea,  ac- 
cording to  her  usual  custom,  her  people  an- 
nounced to  her,  that  the  prince  was  not  to  be 
found,  though  he  had  not  left  the  castle. 

The  princess  felt  for  her  silver  keys,  in  which 
lay,  not  merely  her  power  over  the  flood-gates  of 
the  sea,  but  also  her  great  magical  craft,  and  re- 
marked with  horror  that  they  were  gone.  Quite 
beside  herself,  she  ran  down  the  staircase,  and 
met  the  foreign  prince  leading  her  father  by  the 
hand. 

The  princess  also  possessed  a  ring  of  nut- 
wood, with  which  she  could  practise  a  great 
many  magical  arts  ;  this  she  reached  for,  to  turn 
the  strange  prince  into  stone,  but  at  that  moment 
the  prince  became  of  enormous  size,  his  red  cloak 
and  beard  glowed  like  burning  coals,  and  his 
eyes  sparkled  like  wheels  of  fire. 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY.  153 

With  terrific  voice,  he  cried  out :  "  Accursed 
be  thou,  outcast  of  humanity!  The  measure 
of  thy  iniquity  is  full.  Thy  magical  power  is 
broken,  and  in  this  very  night  thy  city  with  all 
that  is  therein  shall  be  swallowed  up  by  the 
waves  of  the  sea.  Accursed  be  thou,  with  thy 
whole  city ! " 

He  dragged  away  the  king,  whom  he  had  freed, 
and  who  still  wore  the  shackles  on  his  hands 
and  feet,  opened  the  flood-gates  of  the  sea,  and 
brought  the  king  up  on  the  high  land,  without  al- 
lowing himself  to  be  moved  in  the  least  by  his 
entreaties. 

When  they  reached  the  high  land,  he  stopped 
and  relieved  the  king  of  his  fetters,  and  pointed 
back  to  the  city  they  had  just  left.  The  waters 
of  the  sea  were  rushing  in ;  they  had  already 
reached  the  spire  of  the  tower,  they  mounted  vis- 
ibly higher  and  higher,  and  in  a  few  minutes  all 
was  overwhelmed. 

The  strange  prince  was  no  other  than  the  her- 
mit ;  he  flung  the  silver  keys  into  the  deep  abyss, 
conducted  the  king  to  his  castle,  and  returned  to 
his  hermitage.  Nothing  more  was  ever  heard  of 
him,  and  the  king  died  not  long  after. 


154  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Since  that  time,  many  thousand  human  beings 
have  been  born,  and  have  died,  oak  forests  have 
grown  up  and  have  passed  away  again,  and  yet 
the  legend  of  the  Enchanted  City  is  known  even 
to  this  day ;  and  it  is  also  added,  that  once  in 
every  five  years,  on  the  first  night  in  May,  when 
the  clock  strikes  twelve,  the  castle  and  city  of 
the  princess  emerge  from  the  sea,  that  then  walls 
mountain-high  dam  out  the  waters,  and  a  door 
is  opened  to  the  entrance  of  the  castle.  Who- 
ever then  has  courage  to  take  advantage  of  the 
right  moment  and  hasten  into  the  fifth  saloon  of 
the  castle  will  find  there  the  ring  of  nut-wood, 
by  means  of  which  all  his  wishes  may  be  grati- 
fied. But  he  must  be  sure  to  hasten,  for  when 
the  last  stroke  of  the  midnight  hour  sounds,  the 
spell  is  broken,  the  door  closes,  the  floods  press 
in,  and  all  retreat  is  cut  off  for  the  next  five  years. 

Well,  there  once  lived,  many,  many  hundred 
years  ago,  a  young  man  named  Kurd,  who  had 
much  rather  be  idle  than  to  work,  and  would 
gladly  have  become  with  one  lucky  stroke  a  rich 
man  for  life. 

Kurd  had  heard  the  story  of  the  Enchanted 
Castle  from  a  strolling  beggar,  and  he  had 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY.  155 

thought  of  nothing  ever  since  but  of  getting  pos- 
session of  the  nut-wood  ring  of  the  princess.  He 
watched  for  four  years  every  first  May-night  to 
see  if  the  city  rose  out  of  the  sea,  and  on  the 
fifth  year  he  went  again  on  the  scout.  He  tar- 
ried and  tarried  till  it  should  strike  midnight. 
At  last,  a  clear  ring  was  heard  in  the  night  air ; 
it  was  the  first  stroke  of  the  nearest  town-clock, 
which  announced  the  hour  of  midnight. 

A  joyful  tremor  ran  over  Kurd.  Before 
his  eyes  arose  walls  mountain-high,  and  house- 
tops and  tower-spires  shot  up  in  the  air.  By 
the  light  of  the  stars  he  descried  an  opening 
in  the  walls  just  before  him,  and  a  massive 
bridge  by  which  he  could  cross  over  into  the  city. 
He  started  for  the  bridge  upon  the  full  run,  and 
passed  through  the  opening  into  the  city.  On 
his  entrance  he  found  every  thing  dark ;  farther  on 
it  became  brighter  and  brighter,  till  he  reached 
the  palace,  which  seemed  to  float  in  light.  Just 
as  Kurd  hastened  up  the  broad  steps,  the  fifth 
stroke  of  the  midnight  hour  sounded. 

Kurd  entered  the  first  saloon ;  enormous  trunks 
filled  with  silver  stood  all  around  against  the 
walls ;  but  Kurd  wanted  something  better  than 


156  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

silver,  so  he  passed  through.  Then  sounded  the 
sixth  stroke. 

He  found  a  second  saloon  in  which  stood  huge 
coffers  with  much  more  gold  than  a  hundred 
acres  can  yield  of  barley-corns;  but  Kurd  dis- 
dained the  gold,  he  had  a  mind  for  something 
better.  He  went  on  through  the  apartment. 
Then  sounded  the  seventh  stroke. 

In  the  third  room,  there  were  real  pearls,  that 
lay  around  like  sand  on  the  sea-shore  ;  but  these 
could  not  entice  Kurd,  who  knew  there  was 
something  more  precious  yet  to  be  had,  and  who 
still  pushed  on.  Then  sounded  the  eighth  stroke. 

The  fourth  apartment  glittered  and  sparkled 
with  nothing  but  diamonds ;  but  he  restrained 
himself,  recollecting  that,  if  he  once  got  posses- 
sion of  the  nut-wood  ring,  he  could  have  dia- 
monds, pearls,  gold,  and  silver  at  his  pleasure. 
As  he  hurried  into  the  last  room,  the  ninth  stroke 
sounded. 

But  when  Kurd  entered  the  fifth  and  last  sa- 
loon, he  stood  transfixed  with  astonishment.  Be- 
fore him  in  the  centre  of  the  room  hung  the  ring 
of  nut-tree-wood,  yet  he  hardly  marked  the  pre- 
cious treasure,  for  before  him  and  on  both  sides 


THE    ENCHANTED    CITY.  157 

he  espied  countless  maidens  more  beautiful  than 
he  had  ever  seen  before,  and  every  one  held  in 
one  hand  a  wreath  of  flowers  which  she  extended 
towards  him,  and  in  the  other  a  golden  cup  filled 
with  wine,  the  delicious  odor  of  which  invited 
him  to  drink. 

Kurd,  who  had  resisted  the  silver,  the  gold,  the 
pearls,  and  the  diamonds,  could  not  withstand 
the  charming  maidens.  The  tenth  stroke  sound- 
ed, —  he  heard  it  not. 

The  eleventh,  —  Kurd  remained  motionless, 
lost  in  the  sight  of  so  much  beauty. 

Now,  —  the  twelfth  stroke,  —  like  thunder  in 
the  mountains,  it  roared.  Kurd  started  from  his 
stupefied  bewonderment,  —  the  figures  before 
him  changed  into  marble  statues,  and  a  rushing 
sound  like  that  of  mighty  waters  came  upon  his 
ear.  He  tries  to  go  back,  the  doors  are  closed, 
dark  night  comes  on,  and  with  horror  he  feels  his 
limbs  stiffening  into  stones.  No  one  ever  saw 
him  again,  neither  since  that  time  has  any  one 
ever  dared  to  enter  the  Enchanted  City  ;  the  sea 
has  rushed  over  it  for  centuries,  and  the  force  of 
the  waves  has  long  since  utterly  destroyed  it. 


SILLY    PETER. 


PETER  was  called  throughout  the  place  noth- 
ing else  than  Silly  Peter,  and  he  put  up  with  this, 
because  he  was  in  fact  a  little  simple,  though  in 
his  own  way  he  was  shrewd  enough,  only  he 
kept  this  to  himself,  and,  besides,  the  people 
meant  no  harm  by  this  nickname.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  rather  liked  him,  and  they  always 
gave  him  the  remains  of  their  dinners.  He  used 
to  go  all  around  the  town,  with  his  mouth  set 
wide  open,  and  his  great,  staring  eyes  glowering 
about,  without  any  particular  business  of  his  own. 
His  parents  had  died  when  he  was  quite  young, 
and  he  had  grown  up  wild  and  untutored,  but 
still  he  never  did  any  harm  to  any  body.  When 
he  was  thirsty  he  went  to  the  well  and  drank, 
when  he  was  hungry  he  went  to  the  first  house- 


SILLY    PETER.  159 

wife  that  he  saw  standing  at  her  door  and  ate  of 
what  was  left  from  her  table,  and  when  he  was 
sleepy  he  crept  into  a  barn  and  went  to  sleep  in 
the  straw.  Considering  his  circumstances,  Peter 
was  not  so  badly  dressed  after  all;  He  had  an 
excellent  pair  of  linen  trowsers  that  lacked  noth- 
ing but  the  waistband,  a  jacket  with  one  sleeve, 
and  half  a  cap  which  had  once  been  new.  And 
when  he  had  eaten,  he  was  always  in  high  spir- 
its, and  he  sang  merrily  out  of  the  joy  of  his 
heart.  There  was  only  one  thing  that  he  knew 
how  to  do  well,  and  that  was  to  trill  like  a  sing- 
ing-bird, and  he  could  imitate  the  lark  best  of  all. 
So  he  lived  just  like  a  bird,  eat  and  drank  when- 
ever he  could  get  the  wherewithal,  and  when  he 
was  sleepy  he  went  to  sleep. 

At  the  time  that  Silly  Peter  lived,  the  earth 
looked  very  different  from  what  it  does  now. 
There  were  then  great  woods,  many  hundred 
miles  long,  and  ancient  knights  and  great  giants 
lived  in  those  days,  and  there  were  a  great  many 
other  wonderful  things. 

One  day,  it  was  long  after  the  noon-bell  had 
rung,  and  Silly  Peter  felt  excessively  hungry,  as 
he  came  by  a  very  neat  farm-house ;  so  he  stepped 
in  and  asked  for  something  to  eat. 


160  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

The  farmer's  wife  was  just  washing  up  her 
dishes  as  Peter  came  in.  When  she  heard  his 
voice,  she  left  her  work,  and  set  before  him  the 
little  half-tub  into  which  she  had  scraped  the 
fragments  that  were  left  of  the  dinner,  and  said  : 
"  There,  my  poor  little  Peter,  eat  as  much  as  you 
want,  and  say  a  paternoster  for  our  swine,  that 
they  may  fatten  well." 

Silly  Peter  let  himself  down  on  the  ground, 
took  the  tub  between  his  knees,  and  searched 
about  in  it  for  something  to  eat ;  but  he  found 
very  little,  for  there  had  been  a  great  many  forks 
in  the  plates  and  a  great  many  spoons  in  the 
bowls  that  day,  so  that  there  was  not  much  left 
for  the  tub.  However,  when  Peter  had  done,  he 
licked  his  fingers  and  murmured  a  prayer  of 
thankfulness,  as  if  he  had  never  eaten  any  thing 
so  delicious  in  his  life.  "  There  was  some  excel- 
lent dumpling  there,"  said  he ;  "  it  must  have  been 
made  of  the  finest  flour  and  prepared  by  one  of 
the  best  of  cooks." 

The  farmer's  wife  was  just  going  away,  but 
she  caught  these  words,  and  she  felt  very  much 
flattered.  She  turned  back  to  Silly  Peter  and 
said :  "  Poor  boy !  wait  a  moment  and  I  '11  bring 
you  a  bit  of  bread." 


SILLY    PETER.  161 

She  actually  brought  him  out  a  thick  slice  of 
bread,  with  a  nice,  delicate  crust,  and  most  deli- 
cious crumb.  Silly  Peter  bit  into  it  like  a  hun- 
gry wolf,  and  he  cried  out  that  there  could  be 
but  one  baker  in  the  world,  who  knew  how  to 
bake  such  bread  as  that, 

That  flattered  the  farmer's  wife  still  more. 
"  Hem !  "  thought  she,  "  how  he  would  relish  it, 
if  he  had  a  bit  of  my  fresh  May  butter  to  eat 
with  it ! "  And  she  went  quickly  into  the  house, 
and  brought  out  a  piece  of  her  best  butter,  which 
Silly  Peter  accepted  with  no  little  delight. 

Now,  how  he  extolled  the  farmer's  wife  and 
her  butter !  "  In  the  whole  village,  and  for  miles 
around,  there  was  not  another  person  who  under- 
stood making  such  butter  as  that !  How  many 
things  were  necessary  to  good  butter !  clean  ves- 
sels, the  most  careful  attention  to  the  cows,  rich 
pasture,  —  verily,  a  bit  of  beef  from  cows  that 
gave  such  butter  must  be  delicious ! " 

The  increasing  self-complacency  of  the  far- 
mer's wife  led  her  to  bring  Silly  Peter  a  nice  piece 
of  beef.  This  went  on  till  she  went  in  again  and 
again,  and  brought  the  delighted  Peter  as  much 
as  he  could  eat. 

11 


162  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

A  horseman  now  came  galloping  along;  he 
stopped  at  the  door  and  asked  the  farmer's  wife 
the  way  to  Glasburg  Castle. 

"  Heavens !  "  cried  the  frightened  woman,  "are 
you  going  to  Glasburg  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  horseman,  "  I  have  come  for 
that  purpose  from  distant  lands,  and  I  have  rid- 
den day  and  night  for  three  months,  till  I  have 
arrived  here." 

"  And  what  are  you  going  to  do  in  the  Glas- 
burg ?  "  inquired  the  woman. 

"  I  am  going  to  procure  the  golden  vase  and 
the  diamond  spear." 

"  Are  they  such  very  precious  things  ?  "  said 
Silly  Peter,  putting  in  his  question. 

"  Far  more  precious  than  all  the  crowns  in  the 
world,  for  the  golden  vase  procures  for  its  pos- 
sessor every  thing  that  he  can  desire  to  eat  and 
drink,  and  has,  at  the  same  time,  such  magical 
power,  that  whoever  drinks  from  it  is  immedi- 
ately cured  of  whatever  disease  he  may  have,  and 
it  even  awakes  the  dead  to  life,  if  it  is  put  to 
their  lips." 

"  But  the  diamond  lance  breaks  in  pieces  and 
destroys  every  thing  that  is  touched  with  it." 


SILLY    PETER.  163 

"  And  to  whom  do  the  golden  cup  and  the 
diamond  lance  belong  ?  "  said  Peter,  greatly  won- 
dering. 

"  A  great  magician,"  answered  the  farmer's 
wife, "  who  lives  on  the  Glass  Mountain ;  he  may 
be  seen  every  day  on  the  heath  below  there,  at 
the  edge  of  the  woods,  where  he  sits  on  his  black 
horse,  followed  by  a  colt  of  thirteen  months. 
But  no  one  ever  dares  to  go  near  him,  because 
in  his  hand  he  carries  the  lance  from  which  there 
is  no  deliverance." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  strange  knight,  "  but  in  his 
castle  of  Glasburg  he  has  no  use  for  it.  As 
soon  as  he  comes  home,  he  shuts  it  up  in  a  sub- 
terraneous vault  which  no  key  will  fit.  I  intend 
to  seize  him  in  his  own  castle." 

"  Ah ! "  said  the  woman,  "  you  will  never  suc- 
ceed, for  many  hundred  knights  have  already  tried 
it  before  you,  but  not  one  has  ever  returned." 

"  That  is  not  unknown  to  me,  dear  woman, 
but  all  these  men  had  not,  like  me,  received  coun- 
sel from  the  hermit,  the  deadly  foe  of  this  giant ; 
that  will  assist  me." 

"  And  what  did  the  hermit  tell  you  ?  "  said 
Silly  Peter. 


164  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  He  told  me  every  thing  that  I  must  do. 
First,  I  must  ride  through  the  Enchanted  Forest, 
where  all  kinds  of  enchantments  would  be  put 
into  operation  to  make  me  lose  my  way,  and  to 
fill  me  with  terror.  Almost  all  who  have  gone 
before  me  have  suffered  themselves  to  be  be- 
guiled, and  have  perished  in  the  wood,  of  hunger, 
cold,  or  exhaustion." 

"  And  what  if  you  get  through  the  wood,  or 
farther  ?  "  inquired  Silly  Peter. 

"  When  I  get  through  the  wood,  I  meet  a 
dwarf  with  a  fiery  sword,  with  which  he  sets  ev- 
ery thing  on  fire  that  it  touches.  This  dwarf 
keeps  guard  over  an  apple-tree  with  golden  fruit, 
one  apple  of  which  I  must  have." 

"  And  after  that  ?  "  inquired  Peter. 

"  After  that  I  find  the  Laughing  Flower, 
guarded  by  a  lion  whose  mane  is  of  poisonous 
adders,  I  must  pluck  the  Laughing  Flower,  and 
then  swim  through  the  Lake  of  the  Dragon,  in 
order  to  fight  with  the  black  giant,  who  has  the 
iron  nine-pin  ball  that  never  fails  its  aim,  and  al- 
ways returns  again  to  its  master.  Then  I  come 
first  into  a  pleasure-garden,  where  all  kinds  of 
expensive  amusements  will  seek  to  seduce  me ; 


SILLY    PETER.  165 

but  I  must  touch  nothing,  but  hasten  to  the  river 
which  has  but  one  fording-place.  On  the  other 
side,  I  am  to  find  a  lady  dressed  in  black,  whom 
I  am  to  take  up  behind  me  on  my  horse,  and 
learn  from  her  what  I  am  next  to  do." 

The  farmer's  wife  attempted  to  dissuade  the 
knight  from  his  purpose ;  but  he  said  those  were 
things  which  women  did  not  understand,  but 
took  her  directions  as  to  the  road,  and,  giving  the 
spur  to  his  horse,  he  soon  vanished  behind  the 
trees  of  the  forest. 

The  farmer's  wife  sighed  with  regret,  she  gave 
Peter  some  more  bread-crusts,  and  bade  him  go 
on  his  way. 

Just  as  she  was  sending  him  away,  her  hus- 
band came  in  from  the  field.  He  had  just  sent 
away  his  herd-boy,  and  was  in  want  of  another. 
When  he  saw  Silly  Peter,  it  occurred  to  him 
that  he  might  engage  him  for  a  cow-herd. 

He  asked  him  if  he  would  stay  on  the  farm, 
and  take  care  of  the  cows.  Now  Peter  much 
preferred  to  devote  his  time  to  taking  care  of  him- 
self, and  nobody  understood  better  how  to  while 
away  the  whole  day  in  doing  nothing  than  he. 

But  the  taste  of  the  bacon,  the  beef,  the  butter, 


166  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

the  fresh  bread,  and  the  delicious  dumpling  that 
he  had  r.elished  so  much,  still  lingered  in  his 
mouth,  so  he  took  up  with  the  offer. 

The  man  immediately  led  him  out  into  the 
field,  counted  out  the  cows  before  him,  cut  a 
switch  for  him  to  drive  the  cows  with,  and  told 
him  to  drive  them  home  at  sunset. 

Thus  was  Silly  Peter  all  at  once  turned  into  a 
cow-herd ;  he  must  see  that  the  cows  did  no  harm 
to  the  fields,  and  .he  had  to  run  sometimes  from 
the  white  to  the  brown,  and  from  the  brown  to 
the  black,  to  hinder  them  from  breaking  through 
and  getting  into  the  cultivated  lands. 

While  he  was  going  about  in  this  manner,  from 
one  side  to  the  other,  he  heard  all  at  once  the 
tramp  of  a  horse,  and  looking  around,  he  saw  the 
giant  with  the  diamond  spear,  riding  through  the 
wood  on  a  black  horse,  followed  by  a  colt  of  thir- 
teen months.  Around  his  neck  hung  the  golden 
cup,  and  the  diamond  spear  flashed  like  a  blaze. 

Full  of  terror,  Peter  hid  himself  behind  a  bush. 
The  giant  passed  along  and  rode  quietly  on  his 
way.  When  he  had  gone,  Silly  Peter  hastened 
out  of  his  hiding-place,  and  looked  about  for  the 
horse's  tracks,  in  order  to  ascertain  the  direction 


SILLY    PETER.  167 

v 

the  giant  had  taken.  But  that  was  impossi- 
ble. 

In  the  mean  time  there  came  an  immense 
number  of  knights  seeking  the  way  to  Glasburg. 
Peter  never  saw  any  of  them  return  again,  but 
every  day  the  giant  appeared  at  the  edge  of  the 
wood,  where  he  went  to  ride  for  pleasure.  Peter 
at  last  became  accustomed  to  the  sight  of-  him ; 
he  no  longer  concealed  himself  when  the  giant 
came  along,  but  he  looked  at  him,  and  at  last 
with  a  somewhat  envious  glance ;  for  the  oftener 
Peter  saw  the  diamond  spear  and  the  golden  cup, 
the  more  anxious  he  became  to  possess  them 
both.  But  as  Peter  was,  in  this  respect,  like 
most  people,  that  is  to  say,  like  an  old  woman, 
he  continued  to  wish  and  to  envy. 

One  evening,  however,  Peter  was  alone,  as 
usual,  in  the  meadow,  when  all  at  once  a  man 
with  a  long  white  beard  made  his  appearance, 
and  remained  standing  by  the  edge  of  the  wood. 

Peter  thought  it  might  be  another  knight  who 
was  about  to  attempt  the  adventure ;  and  he 
asked  him  if  he  sought  the  way  to  the  Glasburg. 

"  I  have  no  need  to  seek  it,"  said  the  man,  "  I 
know  it  already." 


168  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

"  Then  you  have  returned  back  safe,  and  the 
giant  has  not  killed  you  ?  " 

"  He  has  nothing  to  fear  from  me,"  answered 
the  man  with  the  white  beard,  "  for  I  am  Bryak 
the  Sorcerer,  and  the  brother  of  the  giant.  When 
I  wish  to  visit  him,  I  come  here  and  call  for  the 
black  colt,  because  otherwise  I  could  not  get 
through  the  Enchanted  Wood  without  losing  my 
way ;  but  the  colt  knows  the  way." 

After  saying  this,  he  drew  with  his  finger  a 
threefold  circle  in  the  sand,  murmured  a  few 
words  softly,  and  then  cried :  — 

"  Colt  so  young,  colt  so  black, 
Come  quick  and  take  me  on  thy  back." 

And  the  colt  made  its  appearance  immediately. 
Bryak  threw  the  halter  and  bridle  over  him, 
swung  himself  upon  his  back,  and  rode  away 
into  the  wood. 

Peter  said  nothing  of  this  adventure  to  any 
body,  but  he  thought  enough  about  it  himself, 
for  he  knew  now  that  the  first  condition  of  reach- 
ing the  Glasburg  was  the  black  colt.  But  alas! 
this  knowledge  helped  him  very  little,  for  no  mat- 
ter how  many  times  he  drew  the  three  circles  in 
the  sand,  and  called  out :  — 


SILLY    PETER.  169 

"  Colt  so  young,  colt  so  black, 
Come  quick  and  take  me  on  thy  back,"  — 

the  colt  never  appeared. 

It  was  necessary  for  him  to  think  of  some  oth- 
er means  of  getting  at  the  colt,  and  then  it  was 
a  most  hazardous  affair  to  obtain  the  golden  ap- 
ple, and  the  Laughing  Flower,  to  escape  the  un- 
erring ball  of  the  black  giant,  and  to  pass  safely 
through  the  pleasure-garden.  But  not  the  less 
did  the  golden  cup  and  the  diamond  spear  take 
possession  of  Peter's  mind. 

Peter  thought  much  and  long  over  the  matter, 
to  contrive  how  he  should  bring  it  about.  He 
could  not  obtain  these  things  by  violence,  he  was 
too  weak  for  that,  so  he  must  turn  his  thoughts 
to  stratagem.  But  the  difficulties  in  the  way  did 
not  give  him  any  anxiety.  "  It  is  the  same  with 
them,"  said  he,  "  as  it  is  with  medlars ;  when  they 
hang  unplucked  on  the  trees,  they  are  hard  and 
sour,  but  if  one  gathers  them,  with  a  little  straw 
and  some  patience,  they  grow  soft  and  well-fla- 
vored." 

So  he  delayed  taking  any  measures  for  obtain- 
ing the  black  colt  till  the  hour  when  the  giant 
was  in  the  habit  of  riding  by  on  his  way  to  the 


170  POPULAR   LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

wood.  Then  he  had  ready  a  halter  and  bridle 
and  a  hempen  noose,  filled  a  sack  with  feathers 
and  birdlime,  took  with  him  the  bacon  which  he 
had  saved  from  his  meals  for  several  days,  and  a 
piece  of  bread,  which  he  rubbed  into  crumbs,  and 
strewed  over  the  route  which  the  giant  with  his 
horse  and  his  thirteen  month's  colt  were  accus- 
tomed to  take. 

Giant,  horse,  and  colt  appeared  as  usual,  and 
crossed  over  the  meadow,  but  the  colt  dropped 
its  head  to  the  ground  and  snuffed,  it  scented  the 
crumbs,  and  remained  behind  to  eat,  and  was 
soon  alone.  When  the  giant  was  too  far  off  to 
notice  it,  Peter  slipped  softly  up  to  the  colt,  threw 
the  noose  over  it,  put  on  the  halter  and  bridle, 
swung  himself  upon  its  back,  and  suffered  the 
colt,  who  knew  the  way,  to  carry  him  to  Glas- 
burg. 

The  colt  took  his  way  straight  to  the  Enchant- 
ed Wood,  where  he  struck  into  the  wildest  path, 
and  flew  through  it  like  the  wind.  Peter  trem- 
bled like  an  aspen-leaf.  Around  him,  in  the  En- 
chanted Wood,  rose  up  a  thousand  horrible  fig- 
ures. Sometimes  an  abyss  opened  before  his  eyes, 
into  which  he  thought  that  he  and  his  colt  must 


SILLY    PETER.  171 

fall  together  and  break  their  necks;  sometimes 
the  trees  would  burst  into  flames,  and  he  be- 
lieved he  should  be  burned  to  death;  or  frightful 
rocks  would  be  rent  asunder,  and  look  as  if  they 
were  going  to  fall  upon  him  and  crush  him  to 
pieces ;  and  he  heard  moans  and  shrieks  and  wild 
ravings  all  around  him,  till  his  hair  stood  on  end 
with  horror.  But  Peter  kept  repeating  to  him- 
self that  it  was  only  magic,  and  when  his  fear 
grew  too  strong  for  him,  he  pulled  his  cap  over 
his  eyes  and  let  the  colt  go  as  he  would.  Thus 
he  came  to  a  level  plain.  Here  the  enchantments 
ceased,  and  Peter  raised  his  cap  and  looked 
about  him.  It  was  a  waste,  desolate  place. 
All  around  lay  the  bones  of  the  knights  who  had 
attempted  to  reach  the  Glasburg ;  here  they  lay 
beside  their  horses,  a  prey  to  the  ravenous  wolves. 
At  length  Peter  reached  a  meadow  which  was 
entirely  overshadowed  by  one  single  apple-tree, 
so  richly  laden  with  fruit  that  the  branches  hung 
down  to  the  earth.  Before  the  tree  stood  the 
dwarf  with  the  fiery  sword,  which  burned  every 
thing  that  it  touched.  When  he  saw  Peter  he 
uttered  a  shrill  scream,  like  that  of  the  sea-gull 
when  a  storm  is  threatening,  and  swung  his  fear- 
ful sword. 


172  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Peter  gave  himself  no  uneasiness,  but  drew  off 
his  cap  very  politely.  "  No  offence,"  said  he  to 
the  dwarf,  "  I  am  going  to  Glasburg  by  order  of 
the  lord  of  the  castle." 

"  You! "  cried  the  dwarf,  "  pray  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  Silly  Peter,  and  I  am  to  take  service 
with  the  lord  of  Glasburg.  Has  he  not  said  any 
thing  to  you  about  it  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  the  dwarf,  "  and  I  believe  you  are 
an  impostor." 

"  With  permission,"  answered  Peter,  still  hold- 
ing his  cap  humbly  in  his  hand,  "  that  is  not  my 
business,  I  am  a  bird-catcher,  I  catch  birds  and 
tame  them.  But  do  not  detain  me,  for  the  lord 
of  Glasburg  is  expecting  me,  and  he  has  given 
me  his  colt,  so  that  I  might  get  here  the  quicker." 

The  dwarf  saw  that  it  really  was  the  giant's 
colt,  and  he  thought  it  must  indeed  be  so.  Yet 
he  thought  it  not  amiss  to  ask  Peter  what  he  was 
going  to  do  at  the  Glasburg. 

"  Catch  birds,"  answered  Peter ;  "  what  else  ? 
The  sparrows  are  devouring  all  the  cherries  on 
the  trees,  so  that  the  people  can  hardly  save  any 
of  them." 

"  And  how  will  you  destroy  them  ?  " 


SILLY    PETER.  173 

Peter  showed  him  his  noose,  and  told  him  no 
bird  could  hop  away  with  that. 

"  That  I  must  see  myself,"  said  the  dwarf;  "  I 
have  numberless  sparrows  here,  catch  me  a  quan- 
tity of  them." 

Peter  was  delighted.  He  pretended  to  tie  his 
colt  to  a  branch  of  the  tree,  but  instead  of  that, 
he  fastened  one  end  of  the  noose  to  it,  and  called 
to  the  dwarf  to  take  hold  of  the  other  end  while 
he  climbed  the  tree.  Then  he  snatched  the  noose 
out  of  his  hand,  and  threw  it  over  him.  Thus 
was  the  dwarf  taken  prisoner.  He  roared  with 
rage,  and  struggled  to  free  himself,  but  the  noose 
was  of  threefold  twisted  hemp,  which  resists  all 
enchantment.  Peter  sprang  quickly  on  his  colt, 
plucked  an  apple  from  the  tree,  and  galloped  away. 

After  the  meadow  came  a  level  field,  and  be- 
yond that  a  great  flower-garden.  There  grew 
all  kinds  of  beautiful  flowers,  but  in  the  midst  of 
the  garden  rose  one  flower  of  surpassing  ele- 
gance :  that  was  the  Laughing  Flower.  Peter 
gazed  upon  it  with  longing  eyes,  but  the  lion  with 
the  snaky  mane  was  running  round  before  the 
entrance,  rolling  his  glowing  eyes  like  a  pair  of 
mill-wheels,  and  gnashing  his  teeth  furiously. 


174  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Peter  drew  up  the  colt  and  pulled  off  his  cap, 
remembering  the  old  saying,  that,  "  with  the  hat 
in  the  hand,  one  may  go  through  the  whole  land." 
Then  he  saluted  the  lion  very  politely,  and  asked 
him  if  that  was  the  right  way  to  the  Glasburg. 

"  And  what  do  you  want  there  ?  "  said  the 
lion  in  a  terrific  voice. 

"  Most  gracious  Mr.  Lion,"  said  Peter  timidly, 
"  a  lady,  whom  the  lord  of  Glasburg  knows  very 
well,  has  sent  me  to  bring  him  this  sack  full  of 
larks." 

"  Larks ! "  said  the  lion,  smacking  with  his 
tongue;  "it  is  a  long  time  since  I  have  tasted 
any.  Have  you  many  ?  " 

"  This  whole  sack  full,"  replied  Peter,  showing 
the  sack  of  lark's  feathers  and  birdlime. 

In  order  that  the  lion  might  the  more  readily 
believe  him,  he  began  to  imitate  the  song  of  the 
lark. 

The  song  made  the  lion  more  delighted  than 
ever.  "  Show  me  your  birds,"  said  he,  "  I  will 
see  if  they  are  fat  enough  for  our  master." 

"  Right  willingly,"  said  Peter,  "  only,  if  I  open 
the  sack,  they  will  fly  away." 

"  Well,  just  let  me  peep  in  a  little." 


SILLY    PETER.  175 

That  was  just  what  Peter  wanted.  He  took 
his  sack  and  opened  it  a  very  little;  the  lion 
poked  his  head  in  to  snatch  a  mouthful,  and  was 
stuck  fast  in  the  feathers  and  birdlime.  Peter 
pulled  the  sack  over  his  head,  ran  to  the  flower- 
garden,  broke  off  the  Laughing  Flower,  and  rode 
off. 

It  was  not  long  before  he  came  to  the  Dragon 
Lake,  through  which  he  must  swim.  He  was 
hardly  in  the  water  before  the  dragon  came  rush- 
ing along  to  swallow  him  up.  It  was  of  no  use 
to  take  off  the  cap  here,  nor  was  there  a  word  to 
be  said  to  the  dragon,  who  opened  his  jaws  and 
snapped  at  Peter.  But  Peter  had  the  bacon 
ready  which  he  had  brought  with  him,  and  he 
threw  a  piece  of  it  into  the  open  jaws  of  the 
dragon,  and  the  colt  bore  him  swiftly  away  be- 
fore he  had  time  to  swallow  it. 

Now  he  had  only  to  encounter  the  black  giant 
with  the  iron  bowling-ball.  Peter  saw  him  sit- 
ting close  by  the  landing  on  the  opposite  shore. 
The  giant's  feet  were  fettered  to  the  rocks ;  there 
he  sat,  and  held  in  his  hand  the  unfailing  ball, 
which  always  came  back  to  its  master.  All 
around  his  enormous  head  were  six  great  eyes, 


176  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

that  watched  by  turns,  so  that  while  two  of  them 
slept  the  other  four  were  constantly  spying  about. 

Peter  bethought  himself  that  it  would  not  do 
to  let  himself  be  seen,  because  as  soon  as  the  gi- 
ant espied  him  he  would  throw  his  ball,  before  he 
would  have  time  to  say  a  word  to  him.  So  he 
slipped  off  the  colt's  back  and  crept  along  behind 
the  bushes  till  he  had  got  very  near  the  black 
giant.  Luckily  the  two  eyes  that  were  turned 
towards  Peter  were  asleep.  Peter  sat  down  very 
softly.  He  began  to  imitate  the  songs  of  differ- 
ent birds,  and  at  first  he  sang  like  a  lark ;  then 
one  more  of  the  giant's  eyes  fell  asleep,  complete- 
ly ravished  by  his  song.  Then  he  began  to  war- 
ble like  a  nightingale ;  the  giant  stretched  and 
yawned,  and  after  a  little  while  two  more  eyes 
closed  in  sleep.  Now  Peter  drew  his  flute  out 
of  his  pocket,  and  played  upon  it  an  air  so  melt- 
ing, so  charming,  that  the  last  eye  sunk  in  slum- 
ber and  the  whole  giant  was  asleep.  • 

Swiftly  sped  Peter  to  his  colt,  held  his  rein 
lightly  till  he  had  passed  by  the  giant,  and  at 
length  happily  arrived  at  the  entrance  of  the 
pleasure-garden.  This  was  a  most  delightful 
garden,  filled  with  enticing  fruit,  flowers,  and 


SILLY    PETER.  177 

fountains.  The  fountains  threw  up  jets  of  de- 
licious wine,  the  flowers  sang  with  most  bewitch- 
ing voices,  and  the  fruits  were  all  kinds  of  dain- 
ties, which  flew  towards  him  of  their  own  accord. 
At  the  end  of  each  shaded  walk  stood  tables  as 
richly  spread  as  if  kings  had  been  going  to  feast 
there  ;  the  smell  of  rich  pastry  regaled  the  nose, 
pompous  servants  offered  the  best  and  the  hand- 
somest of  every  thing,  and  charming  maidens 
presented  wine,  and  seemed  ready  to  join  in  the 
dance. 

That  was  a  heavy  trial  for  Silly  Peter.  All  his 
former  perils  were  trifling  compared  with  this. 
He  snuffed  the  delicious  odors  and  his  mouth 
watered  for  the  tempting  delicacies ;  his  eyes 
were  riveted  on  the  flying  fruits  and  the  inviting 
banqueting-tables,  and  if  he  had  not  that  very 
moment  remembered  the  diamond  spear  and  the 
golden  cup,  Peter  would  certainly  have  surren- 
dered here. 

But  he  made  use  of  his  previous  precaution  of 
pulling  his  cap  over  his  face,  drew  his  flute  out 
of  his  pocket  and  played  so  merrily  that  he  could 
no  longer  hear  the  seductive  songs  of  the  maid- 
ens or  the  flowers  ;  and,  thanks  to  the  fleetness  of 
12 


L78  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

his  horse,  he  withstood  this  most  dangerous  trial 
to  his  food-loving  belly. 

As  he  came  out  of  the  garden,  the  Glasburg 
gleamed  upon  his  sight.  In  his  joy  Peter  had  al- 
most forgotten  that,  in  order  to  reach  the  castle, 
he  must  cross  the  river  with  only  one  ford,  but  he 
was  reminded  of  this  by  seeing  a  lady  in  black 
sitting  on  a  high  rock  on  the  other  shore. 

The  colt  knew  all  the  ways,  so  of  course  he 
knew  the  way  to  the  ford.  Peter  forded  the  riv- 
er and  approached  the  lady.  She  was  dressed  in 
black  satin,  and  she  was  as  yellow  as  a  dancing 


Peter  drew  off  his  cap  very  obsequiously,  and 
asked  her  if  she  would  like  to  be  taken  over  the 
river. 

"  I  have  been  waiting  for  you,"  said  the  lady  ; 
"  come  nearer,  so  that  I  can  get  up  on  the  saddle 
behind  you." 

Peter  did  as  she  said,  took  her  up  behind  him 
on  the  colt,  and  rode  again  through  the  river. 

When  they  were  in  the  midst  of  the  river,  the 
lady  said,  "  Do  you  know  who  I  am  ?  " 

"  I  crave  your  pardon,"  said  Peter,  "  but  judg- 
ing from  your  dress,  you  must  be  noble  and  pow- 
erful." 


SILLY    PETER.  179 

"  Noble,"  replied  the  lady,  "  I  certainly  am,  be- 
cause my  lineage  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  and  powerful  I  am  also,  because  all  men 
must  yield  to  me  if  I  will." 

"  And  pray  what  is  your  name  ?  "   said  Peter. 

"  My  name  is  the  Plague  ! " 

At  these  words  Peter  sprung  up  in  terror  from 
the  horse,  and  was  about  to  throw  himself  into 
the  river,  when  the  Plague  said  :  — 

"  Keep  your  seat  quietly,  Peter,  I  will  do  you 
no  harm  ;  on  the  contrary,  I  think  I  may  be  need- 
ful to  you." 

"  Is  it  possible,  Mrs.  Plague  ?  "  cried  Peter, 
and  drew  off  his  cap  without  putting  it  on  again. 
"Will  you  be  so  good?"  "Ah!-  yes!"  he 
added  thoughtfully  to  himself,  "  I  have  been  told 
that  you  would  aid  me  against  the  Magician  of 
Glasburg." 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  Plague,  "  the  Magician 
must  die." 

"  That  will  be  just  what  I  want,  Mrs.  Pest,  but 
he  is  immortal." 

"  Listen,  Peter,  and  pay  strict  attention.  The 
apple-tree  guarded  by  the  dwarf  with  the  fiery 
sword  is  an  offset  of  the  tree,  the  fruit  of  which 


IbO  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

changed  men  from  immortals  to  mortals.  The 
apples  of  this  tree  have  still  the  same  power,  and 
you  must  see  that  the  Magician  eats  of  it,  and 
then  I  will  touch  him,  and  he  will  instantly  die." 

"  I  will  try,"  answered  Peter.  "  But  when  he  is 
dead,  how  shall  I  come  at  the  golden  cup  and  the 
diamond  spear?  They  are  in  a  subterranean 
vault  that  no  key  can  unlock." 

"  The  Laughing  Flower  has  the  power  of  open- 
ing all  doors,"  answered  the  Plague,  "and  it 
lights  up  the  darkness  as  brightly  as  the  sun." 

During  this  discourse  they  reached  the  other 
shore,  and  took  their  way  towards  the  Glasburg. 

At  the  entrance  of  Glasburg  there  was  a  great 
canopy,  under  the  shade  of  which  the  giant  was 
reposing;  he  was  sitting  cross-legged,  like  the 
rich  lord  of  the  manor  who  has  just  reaped  a  rich 
harvest,  and  he  was  smoking  a  golden  pipe. 

When  he  saw  Peter  with  the  lady  in  black 
coming  towards  him  on  his  black  colt,  he  cried 
out  in  an  angry  voice,  that  resounded  like  thun- 
der in  the  mountains :  "  By  the  powers  !  There 
is  Silly  Peter  riding  on  my  thirteen  month's  colt." 

"  Yes,  I  am  Silly  Peter,  most  powerful  lord 
under  the  sun,"  said  Peter,  dismounting. 


SILLY    PETER.  18] 

"  And  pray,  how  did  you  get  here  ?  " 
"  I  have  done  as  your  brother  Bryak  taught  me. 
I  went  to  the  edge  of  the  wood,  and  called  out :  — 

'  Colt  so  young,  colt  so  black, 
Come  quick  and  take  me  on  thy  back.' 

And  the  colt  came  directly." 

"  Then  you  know  my  brother  ?  " 

"  He  is  my  master." 

"  And  why  has  he  sent  you  hither  ?  " 

"  To  bring  you  two  presents  which  he  has  just 
received  from  Ethiopia.  The  apple  of  Delight, 
and  the  virgin  Meekness." 

"  If  you  eat  the  apple,  your  heart  will  all  the 
time  experience  the  delight  which  a  poor  man 
feels  who  suddenly  discovers  in  his  empty  pock- 
ets a  hundred  gold  pieces,  and  if  you  take  the 
maiden  into  your  service,  there  will  be  nothing 
left  upon  earth  for  you  to  wish  for." 

"  Well,  help  the  maiden  down  from  the  horse, 
and  hand  me  the  apple."  Peter  reached  him  the 
apple,  and  went  to  the  Plague  to  assist  her  to 
dismount.  The  giant  eagerly  bit  the  apple ;  the 
Plague  then  hastened  up,  touched  him,  and  he 
instantly  fell  dead  to  the  ground. 

Peter  went  into  the  palace  with  the  Laughing 


182  POPULAR    LEGENDS    OF    BRITTANY. 

Flower  in  his  hand.  He  passed  through,  one  af- 
ter another,  more  than  fifty  rooms,  and  came  at 
last  to  the  silver  door.  This  immediately  sprang 
open  before  the  Laughing  Flower,  and  there  lay 
the  golden  cup  and  the  diamond  spear. 

But  hardly  had  he  grasped  them,  when  the 
earth  heaved  beneath  his  feet,  a  frightful  crash 
was  heard,  the  palace  and  the  Plague  had  van- 
ished together,  and  Peter  found  himself  with  his 
two  treasures  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  wood. 

Nothing  daunted,  he  travelled  on,  and  soon 
reached  the  court  of  a  neighboring  king.  On  the 
way,  however,  he  bought  the  richest  garments  and 
the  finest  horse  that  were  to  be  found. 

This  king  was  in  great  distress ;  he  was  in- 
volved in  a  war  with  a  powerful  adversary,  who 
had  besieged  him  in  his  capital  city.  The  enemy 
pressed  closely  upon  him.  there  was  no  longer  a 
mouthful  of  bread  to  be  had  in  the  city,  and 
meat  was  not  to  be  thought  of ;  and  in  his  ex- 
tremity he  had  promised  his  daughter  in  marriage 
to  any  one  who  would  come  to  his  relief. 

Then  Peter  made  his  appearance  before  the 
king,  and  said  that  he  would  rescue  him. 

"  How  can  you  do  that  ?  "  said  the  king.    "  Our 


SILLY    PETER.  183 

people  are  but  a  handful ;  the  enemy,  on  the  con- 
trary, is  strong,  and  you  are  but  a  single  man." 

But  Peter  did  not  allow  himself  to  be  discour- 
aged. He  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  sol- 
diers, and  led  on  an  attack.  Before  his  diamond 
spear,  down  sank  all  that  he  touched,  and  if  one 
of  his  party  fell,  he  hastened  to  him  and  held  the 
golden  cup  to  his  lips,  and  the  dead  instantly  rose 
to  life  and  health,  and  continued  the  combat. 

At  length  the  enemy  were  beaten  and  their 
whole  country  conquered.  The  king  kept  his 
promise,  gave  his  daughter  in  marriage  to  Peter, 
and  made  him  heir  to  his  whole  kingdom. 

Thus  did  Silly  Peter,  whom  every  body  regard- 
ed as  a  simpleton,  become  a  great  prince ;  but 
that  was  because  he  never  boasted  or  gave  him- 
self out  for  any  great  things,  but  quietly  thought 
within  himself  how  it  would  be  best  to  act,  be- 
cause "DISCRETION  TRANSCENDS  FORCE,"  or  "if 
one  only  begins  right,  one  can  accomplish  a  great 
deal." 


THE    END. 


